An Imaginary Houseguest
by DoctorGirlfriend
Summary: No, she's not sucked through some electronic device into a world of demons. She lives in our world and one night she finds a bleeding boy at her door. Now she has to convince her roommate to let him stay and convince herself this is real. language warning
1. Mr Blood and Gore

I couldn't help myself! It's a classic (read sterotypical) setup : the real world on a stormy night, a girl (ie the author) finds yuyu character injured and in need of help. Who can resist:3 So I gave it my own spin as kind of a plot bunny, I might write more, I might not. I'm trying to be self-effacing here, I don't mean to insult anybody else who's written a fic like this, in fact I read them :3, all the time. Oh and the rating is because I wrote this like I hear people my age actually talk: a curse in every other sentence when the parents are out.

* * *

The rain was pouring down now, thunder and lighting slowly approaching. You could tell from the shorter and shorter intervals between blasts of noise, and the increasing volume. The flashes were the biggest clue though, getting steadily brighter and more distinct. The teen on the couch turned the volume up on the TV for the fifth time in an attempt to block out the storm. Her back was to the glass doors opening onto the rain drenched chaos of the yard and she could almost pretend that she was not home alone in a scary, scary thunderstorm. It was getting even closer now, probably over the lake which was just beyond the band of trees behind her house. She got up and went into the kitchen to rummage in the fridge. 

It hadn't been storming like this earlier; otherwise the others would never have gone out. They would never have taken her little sister to her friend's house for dinner. Of course it was a nice time for the parents as well, they got to chat and have adult time while the children entertained each other. And here she was wrapped in a throw, standing barefoot on the cool kitchen tiles eating ice cream from the box as she stared out the expansive windows into the backyard. It was kind of eerie having big black windows right there opposite the fridge, even if there was a counter and breakfast table between them and her.

She pulled her eyes away from the fascinating storm and looked back at the nonsense on the TV, just noise to distract her from the uneasy feeling of being alone in a silent and dark house. Alone because the animals didn't count. A high-strung, _napping_ lapdog was no replacement for another person. And a cat, is well, a cat and had been out of sight for hours. There was another crash of thunder, but this time simultaneous with the lighting and she jumped, nearly dropping a spoonful of ice cream down her front. "Holy Mother of God that's close!"

The next noise she heard was even more unsettling. Something crashed into the glass doors into the family room. Her heart decided this called for a salsa and began beating double time while her stomach suddenly decided it didn't like ice cream very much and wanted to be rid of it. There was a second thump against the doors and she let out the smallest squeak, though she hadn't moved from her original spot. She hadn't moved for fear that doing so would allow her to see what was out there, and allow whatever it was to see her.

She was standing with her back to the fridge and front of the house, facing the backyard through the huge inky windows that in the morning let light pour into the 'breakfast nook'. The family room stretched off to her right, the flickering TV casting long shadows and tinting the room in strange shades. The only light on was sitting on an end table in the family room. It probably had no idea she was really in the kitchen. The counter she was standing at was in line with the back wall of the family room, and that set of doors. She grabbed a large pan off the stove top and silently climbed onto the counter and swung down. There was another door into the back of the house, the one she was approaching now. The 'breakfast nook' as her mother insisted on calling it at all times stuck out of the back of the house, and there was a door on the right side, looking out onto the deck.

She pressed herself as close to the wall as possible and scooted along towards the door, stopping when she was next to it. Several deep breaths were supposed to calm her, but had no real effect as her hands tightened on the heavy pan she was clutching. 'As if one pan'd save me from legions of the living dead,' visions of zombie movies coming to her head. 'Don't they always start like this too?' There was another flash of lightning and she leaned over quickly, peaking out the window in the door she was next to. There was definitely something on her deck, and it looked like it wanted in. "Sweet Zombie Jesus," she murmured reverently. It thumped again against the family room doors. She looked outside again, could make out its hunched and bedraggled form, but there was only one form there. 'Okay, so it's not a zombie swarm, and they normally don't run too fast, so I can clunk it upside the head and book it the hell back inside.' She bit her lip and took another deep breath. 'Or it could just be a person out there. Frankly I might prefer a zombie, cuz what the hell's anyone in their right mind doin' in my backyard on a night like this? Looking for their next serial murder victim most likely!'

She shifted the pan to her left hand and slowly unlocked the door. Then she flipped on the outside lights and opened the door. The Thing cringed back from the light. It lifted a hand to shield its eyes and its head jerked around trying to spot someone. "Oh god, oh god," she gasped, the pan clattering to the ground as she rushed forward.

* * *

There was some strange noise buzzing in his ears, it slowly resolved into words as he concentrated. He also realized he wasn't standing anymore. It felt like he was laying down, on some cold hard surface. But at least the rain has stopped. There was another sound, much fainter, beyond the words, the rumble of thunder and patter of rain. So it was still raining, and he was still wet, but he wasn't being rained on, he must be inside. Inside with this strange voice singing over him. There were strange smells too, besides his own, strange people and a strange place, household smells that were not his own, nor did they belong to anyone he knew. There was the distinct smell of a wet dog somewhere and something salty. He felt a few raindrops, but they couldn't be rain because they were concentrated in one spot, and he had already decided he was inside. 

He opened his eyes slowly, but it wasn't bright like he'd expected. It was fairly dark, except when the occasional bolt of lighting would send a flare of photons into the room, momentarily making the shapes clear. "I'm sorry," the distant voice hiccupped, the singing having ended when he opened his eyes. "I don't know if I'm doing it right, you apply pressure to a wound but I don't want to make it worse." It crackled with strain and he recognized the salt smell now: tears. Mixed in with that other salty smell, that of his own blood. "For some reason I had the funniest feeling I shouldn't call for an ambulance." No, an ambulance would be a very bad idea; he had to agree with her there. He turned his head to the left so he could see her: fearful bloodshot eyes, straggly brown hair dripping water as her eyes flicked from his to the wound she was pressing on. "Are you dying?" the fear conveyed in those three words surprised him very much and he had to pause to take stock of his condition before answering her.

"No," he forced himself to answer her in the language she'd been using, English. He had no idea where the Hell he was, but at least he would be able to communicate with her. "Where am I?"

"On my fucking kitchen floor!" The poor girl was on the point of hysteria and he was hardly in any state to help her. She took one hand off his wound and used the back of it to wipe the dripping hair from her face. "I'm not going to get AIDs from you am I?"

"No," he replied, some of the smoothness coming back to his voice. "And the bleeding has lessened so you can stop pressing on my stomach for a moment."

The pressure lifted and he watched her fall back from crouching onto her haunches to sitting flat on her butt her legs bent up at odd angles. Her eyes were slightly glazed as she stared over him, not quite seeing anything. "I had to take off your shirt and coat to get at those injuries," she said in a much calmer voice, a flick of her wrist indicating something on his right. He turned his head slowly and saw that indeed his shirt and coat were laying there in their own puddle, but free of the blood that seemed to be leaking around him. Then he saw his right arm, the cut was just as bad as he'd feared, running up the length of his forearm, but above it was a makeshift tourniquet that seemed to be doing the job for the moment.

"Do you have any bandages?" he asked as he slowly turned his head back to the girl.

"I'm thinking," she snapped. "I don't know where she's put them, damn woman. My mother's a nurse, they're Somewhere. How am I going to clean all this up?" her voice rose several pitches again and she went to rub her face but stopped just in time. "No time for cannibal war paint," she muttered as she got to her feet. "You stay there!" she shook a bloody finger at him, like he was capable of movement. "Just what I need is the figment of my warped mind to go and leave me even more confused." She turned and walked into the next room, the source of the only light. "God what a time to go crazy, and schizophrenic nonetheless! Seeing people that don't exist, well at least I know he's not real," her voice was fading as she got further away and he thought he heard the creak of stairs. "Can't be real."

He heard the footsteps returning a minute or so later as he forced himself to remain conscious. He couldn't afford to go blinking in and out again, especially around this delicately balanced girl. The footsteps were stronger coming back and he winced as a bright light came on above his head. "Sorry, thought it better to see the extent of this gruesome scene. Shit you look like someone's been trying to sacrifice you on an altar to their heathen gods. Three old towels is all I can allot to this cleanup without completely tipping off Mom, she's a straight to the hospital kind of person. And so far you've given no indication of wanting to go to one."

She sat down on his right side and slipped a towel under his arm as she lifted it onto her lap. She held a bottle of peroxide dangerously over the gash and he gritted his teeth. "Imminent pain warning," she said and began to pour the liquid. He focused his attention on the series of cuts that had shredded his side to keep his mind off the burning in his arm. "I know it hurts like a bitch, but hey, it's not iodine right?" she laughed a little and he felt something being placed over the wound. He opened his eyes again to see her tearing a package of sterile bandages open and carefully wrapping up the length of his arm. "Tell me if I'm doing this right or wrong, Hell say something."

"You're doing it right, just make sure to do a couple layers."

"Sir, yes, sir," she responded, obviously amused by this for some reason.

"So where am I?"

"I told you, my kitchen floor. If you want the town I can tell you that, if you mean which state you must be really lost, and if you don't know which country I might just have to call Homeland Security."

"You might just have to call them then," he replied, wondering exactly what 'Homeland Security' was.

She sucked in her breath and continued wrapping his arm. "You're in America, on the east coast, a couple hours from the capital, D.C.. You probably don't know or care about the states. How the hell'd you get here, plane crash," there was a pause. "Or some other way?" He wasn't sure he liked the insinuation in her voice, it was too unnerving an accusation. She was just some suburban schoolgirl, wasn't she? He watched her hold the bandage up with one hand while groping around for scissors. She cut it awkwardly, then pulled out a roll of medical tape and taped the ends in place. "What to do about your stomach wound? I can't just wrap it can I? It's so huge! Agh!" She hit herself in the forehead and rocked backwards. "Why am I hallucinating bleeding boys in the middle of a storm? Am I really that cracked, gone off the deep end?"

"You're not hallucinating, I'm real," he said slowly, nearly switching languages on her. That was probably the last thing she needed at the moment

"Of course you'd say that!" she growled, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"How can I prove it to you?"

"You can't, the only way to be sure is have someone I know is real tell me they see you too. But you'll be gone by the time they get home."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." He pushed himself up on his elbows and looked down at the bloody mess of his stomach. "Why do people keep stabbing me there? It's very inconvenient. And tonight not only did I get stabbed, for good measure they added all those nice shallow slashes." He sighed. "I can bandage it myself."

"Not-uh," the girl said, holding the roll away from his outstretched hand. "And stop moving about so much!"

"Help me sit up at least." He gave her such a determined look that she only glared and muttered to herself as she moved around behind him and began pushing him up. It was only as she was trying to tug him up by pulling under his arms that he realized that she was much frailer than him. He was slightly surprised she had managed to get him inside in the first place. He remembered passing out against those glass doors, but this was not the room he had been looking into. He tried to help her by moving to sit up but his stomach muscles spasmed and he took in a sharp breath before falling backwards.

"And Mom walks in and goes: Thank God there's a boy in the house, but what the Hell are you doing?" she muttered from behind him as she tried to ease his fall. "I told you this was a bad idea."

"It's not. Hold still and I can bandage the cut."

"Wait," she said as he reached for the bandages, he felt her shifting behind him and her foot suddenly came into view to his right. "I can't sit on my legs forever you know. I'm not Japanese." Another strange statement that made him slightly uneasy, not like she could have any real idea though. She placed the roll of bandages into his hand and let her hands drop back. "Anything else I can do besides serving as backrest?"

"Not at the moment," he smiled slightly. He began winding the gauze around his midsection. The patter of rain and distant thunder were the only sounds now aside from quiet breathing. He could feel the soft surface he was resting on shifting slowly in time to her breathing. It was, slightly distracting. "What were you singing earlier?" he asked, to break the silence.

She let out a squeak and covered her mouth. "I thought you were unconscious!"

"I was, mostly. Can you sing it again? It was comforting."

She snickered and he could feel her body shaking from the suppressed laughter. "Oh it's not comforting by far, you must not have heard any of the words. It's Evanescence, angsty teen music."

"Please."

She let out something akin to a growl. "I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming… am I too lost?" She let out another low noise and unhappy groan. "My God my tourniquet, return to me salvation," the words came out almost too low to be picked up by human ears as she murmured them. She was obviously embarrassed. "My wounds cry for the grave… my soul cries for deliverance… will I be denied," she trailed off the last part and fidgeted slightly. "Rather morbid isn't it? Bet you wished you hadn't asked."

"Oddly fitting though," he said as he wound the bandage around again and pulled it tight. The bleeding had slowed greatly, thanks in part to the girl's quick actions, and in part to his own healing abilities.

"Fitting says the boy who fell outta the sky and into my lap," she muttered. He twitched slightly. "Well I hate to break it to you hon, but that's where you are right now, in case you haven't noticed." The line of gauze abruptly ended and he wove it into the other layers. With a deep breath he relaxed and leaned against her even more. "Agh, you trying to smosh me?" She exclaimed.

"Sorry." He couldn't move anymore, the effort of bandaging himself and trying to force his body to heal had drained most of his energy.

"Look, I'll get you a real backrest," she said and he could feel her shifting behind him, trying to get to her feet or something. She grabbed him under the arms and began dragging him. She turned him around and backed into a counter, then squatted down and pulled him over far enough that his back was resting against the low wall. "I still have to clean up this mess before my mom gets home." He watched as she scuttled forward and began mopping up the mess with one of the towels she's brought down. Two towels managed to sop up most of the liquid covering the floor, but there were still streaks of red here and there. "Ah where's the method to my madness?" she muttered as she went around the wall he was leaning on to rustle through cabinets.

'Method to her madness? Perhaps she is unstable,' he thought as he heard her walking around again. She had a squirt bottle filled with some green substance and a roll of paper towels.

"The method to my madness," she smiled, holding the bottle up so he could see the word 'Method' in large letters across the front. "Method, heh, yeah I know, all puns are bad." He watched her clean, his eyes sinking closed just to snap open again as soon as he realized he was nodding off. She disappeared from his line of sight for a while, disposing of the evidence he assumed.

"Hey, hey, wake up. Man, wake up!" His eyes shot open and he had to stop himself from grabbing her neck. He shook his head to clear it and looked at the girl who was squatting in front of him. "Do you want me to call an ambulance; do you want to go to the hospital?" she asked. He shook his head in a quick negative. A hospital filled with doctors and nurses asking questions and examining him was the last thing he needed. "I made tea. I hope I didn't put too much sugar in." She held out a cup and he took it, grateful for the warmth of the mug in his hands and the refreshing scent. "I'm going to throw all the wet crap in the laundry, I know a trick to get blood out. Uh, er," he saw with some surprise as pink spread across her cheeks. "Um, do you want me to throw your pants in too since they're soaked?" She looked away quickly and reached to pick up his shirt and coat behind her.

"I guess that would be best," he said slowly, patting his pockets. It was gone. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?"

"I lost something. Something very important," he looked up to see her giving him an expectant look. "It's round and flat, a few centimeters across, opens and there's, there's a screen inside."

"It looks like a compact, like for makeup?" He nodded, wondering if she had taken it while he was unconscious. She flipped her half-dry, frizzy hair from her face and looked out the dark windows. "I'll go look in the yard, but I probably won't be able to find something that small in the dark unless it's flashing and playing the 1812 overture." She stood up and went to the door where a pair of sneakers was sitting in its own puddle. She put them on to an unpleasant squelching sound and slipped out the door into the night.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm out here in the pouring rain, _again_, trying to look for some stupid **beauty product** Mr. Blood-and-Gore might have dropped **anywhere**!" she grumbled as her eyes swept the deck. It wasn't up there, of course it wouldn't be in the first place she looked, the easiest, most straightforward place. It had to be difficult. She clenched her teeth and stepped out from the slight shelter of the house and walked down the stairs into the yard. Fortunately the grass was slightly long and the boy's passage had left a definite trail of slightly bent grass. In the distant streaks of lighting and the light coming from the porch it was visible, just barely. 

She walked along, bent almost in half as she examined the ground for anything that might have been dropped there. She passed out of the range of the house's lights and had to pause to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. Then she continued her search. 'He probably just said that to get me out of the house. I bet he didn't even lose anything. Well if he wants to run away that's his prerogative, less explaining I have to do.' She had reached the trees and was about to turn back, not about to leave the property, in the dark, during a storm, when she saw an oddly regular shape on the ground. She bent down and picked it up. It was a blue compact about two inches across, oddly heavy in her hand. It was an object she recognized and she flipped it open while feeling an iron weight in her stomach.

She trudged back to the house and inside, kicking off her shoes as she entered. "You're a mess." She looked around sharply at the boy's voice. She couldn't tell if he was mocking her, or if it was a commiserating tone he was using. She slammed the door and locked it, flicking out the back lights.

"Whatever kind of mess I am it's your fault. I was warm and comfy until you decided to play zombie at the back door! And I hate to break it to you but you're not the most impressive looking creature yourself at the moment." He looked mildly surprised as if wondering how she could compare the two of them. "I may be soaked to the bone but at least I don't look like a swamp monster with weeds and blood matted in my hair! And you're paler than me, feat that that is, you look like a freaking ghost with sunken cheeks, probably from the blood loss. The dark circles and bloodshot eyes don't help either Monsieur le Zombie, not to mention all the little cuts and the fact half of you is wrapped like a mummy." He was momentarily speechless and she instantly regretted lashing out at someone who could barely stay conscious. "I found your thing," she said in a softer tone as she walked over to him.

"Thank you," he said as she handed it over. He opened it and there was the sudden crackle of static, something it hadn't done for her. He snapped it shut immediately and handed her something. She looked at it with curiosity. His pants. She turned away quickly and scrambled to pick up his other discarded clothes then jumped to her feet. "I'll go throw these in the wash," she said and ran past him through the kitchen and into the next room. He heard the metal clang of a washing machine being opened and the whoosh of the water pouring in.

She was pouring detergent straight onto the bloodstains and rubbing it in, in hopes of getting most of the stains out when she looked down at her own clothes. They too had large smears of red in obvious spots. "Shit." She threw his clothes into the filling washer and began unbuttoning her pants. "Thank god I'm just crazy and he's not real or this could be embarrassing." She applied the same spot treatment to her own clothes and dropped them into washing machine as well before slamming the lid. She looked out into the kitchen and saw the throw blanket on the floor where she'd dropped it when he had slammed against the door the first time. 'Salvation!' She hurried forward and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"I have to go upstairs for a bit, will you be okay down here?" she asked from her position in the middle of the kitchen.

"I believe so," he replied slowly from the other side of the counter.

"Is there anything I can get you first?"

"No, I can think of nothing."

"Okay." She shot out of the kitchen into the family room. Skirting in front of the couch, she passed in front of the muted TV and dashed up the stairs. She shot down the hallway into her room and pulled open the dresser. "Clothes, I need clothes. Wash and dry takes over an hour and a half too… damn." She tossed things onto the floor in a heap, then picked up the pile and carried it down the hall into the bathroom. "But first a shower. Wait, you're not supposed to shower in a thunder storm." She stopped and went to the nearest window. Lightning was faint and distant now and she couldn't even hear the thunder. "Okay, screw safety, and the fact that the washer is on, I need a shower."

Fifteen minutes later she was headed back downstairs, humming to herself as she rubbed the towel covering her hair. The boy was standing next to the sink, standing on a bloody towel as he combed his fingers through his hair. "Gross! Do that over the trashcan!" He started and looked around, a leafy twig in one hand.

"I'm doing it over the towel, which you left sitting by the trashcan and not in it."

"I was gonna put it in a separate bag to make it harder to tell what it was," she huffed, walking towards him. "Should you even be standing?" His eyes slid halfway closed and he went back to picking through his hair. 'Don't make that face at me!' she screamed mentally. "Nice boxers by the way," she snorted and he blushed. She stepped up to the counter and unloaded her armful of stuff while still trying to dry her hair with the other hand. "Well at least I don't have to pick you up," she said as she jumped forward and grabbed him by the hair.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Making you look half-way human before my family gets home. If you're real it'll be easier to explain you if you don't look like a swamp thing that crawled outta the lake." She pulled his head towards the sink and flipped on the water. "It's a good thing we've got a garbage disposal, that'll take care of the leaves, you'd better have gotten the branches out already." He made several noises of protest as she shifted things around on the counter. "I guess dish soap would work fine." He tried to jerk away but only ended up hurting his stomach more. "But then I did go to the trouble of bringing shampoo down. Stay still there." He sighed and folded his arms on the edge of the sink, hanging his head down and silently cursing this girl.

"Now that wasn't so traumatic was it Monsieur le Zombie?" she sniffed as she shut off the water and let him stand up straight. He tried to glare at her but she whipped the towel off her hair and threw it over his head. "Now sit down before your legs give out," she said as she shoved him around the counter and into a chair at the table. He collapsed into the chair and heard her walking away as he tugged the towel off his head. He watched her pick up the towel from the floor and wrap it around the debris that had fallen from his hair before she shoved it into the trashcan. She picked up something else from the counter and tossed it to him.

He caught the shirt and shook it out. It was a white t-shirt with green and gold letters emblazoned across the front. " … College? You're a university student?"

"Yup, and when mummsie comes home, you're one too," she smiled.

"I **am** a university student."

"Even better. But that should fit you till your clothes are dry, since it's big on me. So," she said, leaning on the counter and fixing her eyes on him as he pulled the shirt over his head. There was a malicious glint in her eyes that he didn't like. "How do you want to be introduced, as Kurama or Shuichi?"

* * *

it's always fun giving a setup your own twist. Reviews with some feedback would be nice 


	2. Figment Mine

2

* * *

Stupid line button still isn't working so I had to add these in html. So I did end up writing part two, and there will probably be a part three. Ph34r the sterotypes and cliches because more are coming! I just had to warn you. I've had Jimmy Eat World's _Sweetness_ stuck in my head all day, I don't know why, anyway I thought I'd share.

* * *

His posture went rigid and his eyes locked onto her face. Her expression showed nothing but amusement as they trailed from his green eyes to the vibrant red and soaking wet hair. "I really am crazy," she laughed. 

"Why did you say that?" he asked. "You never asked my name."

"I didn't ask because I already knew," she said. She closed her eyes and rubbed them, ignoring the increasing tenseness of the boy sitting a few feet away. He was practically bristling as he stared back at her, willing her to talk. "Mom will come home, she'll ask me who I'm talking to, I'll tell her and in the morning she'll drive me to the nearest psychiatric hospital where they'll put me on lots of happy medicine and take away all my manga."

"I'm real and I have no idea what you're talking about!" He was on his feet and moving towards her but she only giggled as she watched him. He glared at her with an expression that had made opponents go weak-kneed, a look that threatened death and many unpleasant things. It normally caused at least a little apprehension and sweat. She laughed more and handed him a pair of pajama pants.

"I like those pants try not to ruin them or anything, okay? I'm not afraid of you, you know," she said as she turned away and opened the refrigerator. "I'm more scared of the prickle on the back of my neck when I'm in a dark room alone or the cat when he jumps out at me from under my bed. But not you."

He grabbed her arm and jerked her around to face him. She pushed the fridge door shut with her foot and looked at him complacently. "Who do you think I am?" he asked his voice only slightly lower than normal, but low enough to scream 'danger,' if only you were listening.

"Kurama, a youkai, who lives with humans under the name Minamino Shuichi. That's the very basics right? Now pardon me but I'm trying to eat old Chinese food here." She waved the box under his nose and tried to shrug his hand off. He was looking distinctly shell-shocked and she put it up to the blood loss. "Come on, sit down again like a good kitsune," she said as she walked towards the table, abl to pull him along because he was still holding her arm. "Sit!" She pushed him back into the chair he had vacated and grabbed a fork before sitting down as well.

"Who are you and who do you work for?" he asked as he watched her slurping lo mein without a care in the world. "I'm Gwen Finnegan, soon to be nineteen, college sophomore, suburban girl. And starting next week I'm going to be working for my school."

"How do you know who I am?" he asked, rubbing his head now.

"Manga hon, and anime. Did you know you're like on everybody's ultimate bishie list, a lot of times twice?"

"Bishie list?" he asked, his voice dying slightly. He watched as she got up and leaned over the counter. He had barely registered everything she had brought down, but now he saw her pick up a small book and DVD.

"Bishounen," she yawned as she came back. "Here's the first book in the series, all Yusuke no demons yet. And here's the DVD where you first crop up, along with Hiei and—"

"You know about Yusuke and Hiei?"

"Read," she said, pushing the book into his hands. "I'm assuming all those years of English in school allow you to read pretty fluently. I have a bunch more books upstairs, if you want to read those as well." He was already flipping through the pages, skimming the words and examining the pictures with great interest. Gwen looked around the kitchen aimlessly, eyes skimming the stove's clock which proclaimed the time to be 8:27. "Wow, it feels like it's more like ten. They won't be home for a while yet either."

"Miss Finnegan."

"Ack! Don't call me that, don't you dare call me ma'am either! It makes me feel so old. I'm Gwen didn't I tell you?"

"Yes," he said, gently shutting the book. "Gwen, could I see the rest of these volumes?"

"Yeah," she said as she set her food on the table. "You could watch it too it you wanted. Lemme run upstairs and grab the rest." She pushed back from the table and stood up. She took the book from his hands and walked off. For the first time he could really watch her as she moved. She wasn't particularly agile or graceful, support for her claim that she was just a normal girl and not a dangerous enemy. She came tripping back down the stairs a minute latter with a stack of books balanced in her hands and some DVDs perched on top. She set the wobbling load on the table and picked up her Chinese food again. He started reading and she was already eating.

"You should probably eat somethin' too," she said around a mouthful of food. He was well into the third book, reading his entry into the series, and it took several pokes to get his attention. "Yo, you want food?" she asked when he finally looked up.

"No thank you, I'm not hungry right now." He shook his head and went back to reading. She had noticed that once he had gotten into the part where he was involved he started reading more carefully and she'd caught him making random little comments in what she assumed to be Japanese. They did not sound approving. She went back to the mystical container of cold food and opened it once more. This time she was intent on feeding her 'hallucination' as she was mentally referring to him. She pulled out some cold cuts and bread.

He had barely registered her getting up and flat out ignored her coming back, but all of a sudden he realized he was half-way through a ham and cheese sandwich and had no idea where it came from. He looked across at her to see her yawning at him. She stuck out her tongue and pulled up her eyelids. He glanced between her and his half-eaten sandwich. "What are you doing?"

"I'm bored of watching you read. Let's just watch the anime, oh figment mine."

"I am not a figment of your imagination," he declared as she swept up the books and walked into the family room. He followed after her, holding the plate the sandwich had appeared on. "I ate this didn't I, and you made it?"

"But," she said slowly as she stuffed the manga into a drawer in the coffee table. "How do I know I actually made a sandwich? That could be part of the hallucinations as well. Or I could have made it but eaten it myself and just told myself that it was really you eating it."

This was the most perfect case of denial he'd ever seen. She was so convinced she was imagining him that she was starting to make him question his own presence. After all, he'd never been to America before, how had he ended up there? Well he generally knew how he'd ended up there, but there were much more serious questions raised by his current location that he didn't like to think about at the moment. He sat down on the couch and watched her fiddle with the TV and DVD player. She stepped back, remote in hand, and sat down next to him. "Here, you know how to work it right? Left for backwards, right to go forward and all that jazz."

"Actually, I was unsure of the operation of this strange device, thank you for enlightening me."

"Ah, I am stabbed through the heart with your brilliant sarcasm," she said, falling back dramatically and clutching at her shirt. "I die, I die a thousand deaths! Fie, 'pon 't! Oh the suffering of my immortal soul!"

"You find yourself very amusing don't you?"

"More amusing than you dear figment," she said as the show came on. "Now shush or you'll miss your big debut."

He stayed quiet, but was only half-watching the anime. Her assumption of her own insanity was starting to get tiresome. He could only assume it would be settled when her family came home, though that would create its own new set of serious problems. He could always leave, use dream pollen and sneak out, but he had nowhere to go at the moment. And such a move would probably leave the girl assured of her own madness, something she had done nothing to deserve. 'If I was in a situation like hers I assume my first reaction would be something similar. However, I know I exist. _I think therefore I am_, paragon of western philosophy, holds true. I wonder if it is possible that this is all some delirious dream of mine brought on by my injuries. But what would it mean?'

There was a buzz from the other room and she went to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer. "So, if you are real and my mom comes home, what do you want to be introduced as?" she asked as she returned to her seat on his left.

"How about I leave that up to you?"

"But what if I reveal your secret identity?" she gasped with mock horror.

"And would anyone believe you?" he smirked as he watched the beginning of maze castle.

"Hell no! Youkai don't exist. Cartoons don't come to life. Though it probably is best my mom doesn't read Yu Yu Hakusho, otherwise she's think I was teasing her. She's reading my freaking Naruto though. As it is she'll just think I need a doctor."

"And what happens if she walks in and sees me?"

"I'll worry about that when it happens, _if_ it happens. So how close is this to real life for you? Is this the word for word conversation you had?"

"No. Well, not quite. The main events and outcomes are the same so far, and the general gist of the conversations is correct, but it's not our wording. I mean, the others are prone to insults, but these are a bit snappier, perhaps less biting but—"

"So they TV'ed it up, made it funnier and quicker paced to entertain people and cut out the blustering of real life."

"Yes, a very accurate summary. Ohh," he said, his eyes narrowing to watch his fight with Genbu. "Hmph."

"What, not flattering enough?" He made a noncommittal noise and leaned forward a bit more. She laughed and leaned back in the couch, pulling down the blanket hanging over the back. She shook it out and spread it over her legs as she settled in for the anime marathon and the entertainment of Kurama's disgruntled reaction to the show.

* * *

"Gwen. Gwen honey." The girl opened her eyes slowly and saw her mother standing in the doorway. She vaguely registered the strange expression on her mother's face as she let her eyes slide closed once more. 

"What's up mom?" she yawned.

_"Who is that?"_

Her eyes sprung open and she sat up fast enough to bring on a slight dizziness. Very slowly her head turned to the right and she looked at what she had been leaning on in her sleep. There next to her was a guy about her own age slumped slightly in his slumber. She stared at the flaming red hair cascading over his shoulders. She reached out to shake his shoulder as she looked back at her mom. "Wow, don't you know better than to ask me questions right when I wake up? It throws me off like anything. This is Kurama Minamino, a friend of mine from school." His eyes opened right on cue and he looked around while pushing back his hair.

"You didn't tell me about him," her mother's voice was more accusing than suspicious as she looked from her daughter to the boy.

"Of course not!" her indignant tone seemed to set her mother at ease slightly. "And put up with more of your twenty questions? 'What's he look like? What's his major? Why aren't you dating him?' Mom, remember when I told you about Jim? You kept asking me why I wasn't _more_ than friends, and I kept telling you he has a serious girlfriend!" Her mom looked slightly abashed, but not actually repentant as she shook her head at her daughter.

"It's very nice to meet you Mrs. Finnegan," Kurama said, pushing himself to his feet and extending a hand.

"Ah don't worry about getting up!" the older woman said, though she was obviously pleased by the gesture. "So are you the same year as my little Gwen?"

"I'm **not** little," Gwen muttered, crossing her arms.

"Actually I'm a junior," he replied as he sat down again.

"And you're _just_ friends?"

"**Yes** Mom! He stopped over to see the place since it was close by."

"He lives nearby?"

"_No_, he's from Japan."

"Um, honey I'm confused."

"Of course you are mummsie, that's why I love you. Kurama's an RAR(1), his roommate already moved in and since Kurama flew in a bit early he moved all his stuff in. But he can't officially move into the room until the rest of the student body can, so I said he could stop by. We're not that far from school."

"It'd be nice if you gave me some warning before your friends came over to stay, you know the house is a mess!"

"It's not my fault," she pouted and gave the boy a playful glare. "He didn't give me any warning, just got dropped off in the rain. And I was like: 'hello, _why _are you here?' and he was like: 'because you invited me of course!' Boys!" Kurama let out a chuckle and patted the girl on the head.

"Yes, I'm very sorry about the surprise, but things were hectic and I did not know until the last minute that my other lodgings had fallen through."

"Ah, well it's no big deal, just please forgive the mess around the house, with two kids it's hard to keep clean!"

"Hey, I keep my mess to my room, all this is you guys!"

"Speaking of, Dad just took your sister upstairs to bed. It's after ten you know, not that that seems late to you guys. You teenagers stay up to the wee hours of the morning, but you two were napping so maybe you should head up to bed as well. I know that's where I'm going once I find my book," she laughed as she set her purse down on an end table

"Righty-o mummsie," Gwen said with a salute as she got to her feet. She walked forward quickly and shut off the TV, which was running the credits. She pulled the disc out of the player and stuffed it into its box before sticking that away, out of sight. Kurama stooped to open the coffee table drawer and rescued a few books. The girl's mother smiled as she watched the tired kids head upstairs.

"There's the bathroom," she said pointing at a door at the top of the stairs. "Down there's the big people's room, and next to it is the little one's room. Here's the guest bedroom," she indicated a door immediately to the right. "And down there's my room," she pointed passed the first door. "You gonna go to sleep then?"

"I might do a little reading first," he said holding out the books. She rolled her eyes and shoved him into the bedroom.

"Go to bed! You need rest!"

* * *

(1) RAR- resident advisor's roommate, RA's normally move into dorms before the rest of the student body 


	3. Ask Away

3

* * *

Real boys suck a lot of the time, much in the same way friends can suck but you still love them, feel the waves of bitterness eminating from the author. On a happier note: Yay for everyone who reads this, I'm assuming that it takes some balls to actually click on a story rated 'm' because it seems everyone tries to avoid using the 'mature' tag. Even when there's lots of violence, sex, and suicide the highest I've seen anything is 't.' A lot is rated k plus, which I find really entertaining since that means it's suitable for nine-year-olds :3

* * *

Movement nearby, he was in strange place, in pain, injured, the smells were off. The movement came closer. Something brushing his arm, tensing, springing at it. Soft and yielding flesh, not at all demonic in spite of the smell in the room. A mass of brown hair, flash of blue eyes and pink lips curved into an ironic smile. The buzzing in his head was making it difficult to concentrate, to figure out what was going on. He forced himself to focus on what was being said. 

"If I'da known you were like this in the morning I woulda come in with a broom to beatcha off." He closed his eyes against the smile, against the questioning eyes, trying to piece the previous day's events back together. That sudden burst of youki, meeting the others unexpectedly, the battle, then rain, rain pouring down, drenching everything, the light in the distance. "Are you feeling okay?" Her voice cut into his thoughts, but now he knew she wasn't a threat. "Well of course you're not okay okay, but I mean uh, ah!" She let out a squeak as he collapsed next to her on the bed, one arm stretched across her stomach, as he was still holding her arm. "Kurama?"

"Please forgive me," he said though his face was buried in a pillow. "You took me by surprise and I thought you might be an attacker, this room smells of demons."

"Well it's probably you!" she laughed. "I mean dude, come on. Remember I showered last night, and you probably also smell like whatever it was that cut you up, while I smell of herbally freshness and flowery goodness." He turned his head slightly, so that he wasn't in danger of being smothered by the pillow, and let his eyes slide closed. "Um hey, are you going to be okay? I came in because it's almost noon and I was kinda worried that you died in the night or something."

'Or ran away,' he thought wryly as he kept himself awake. "I'll be fine, I just need rest."

"Um, in English please."

"Oh, sorry. I'll be fine if I get enough rest."

"Meaning I'm bothering you," she said lightly. "Well I made pancakes, we can reheat them later, and my parents are at work, my sister's at camp, so don't worry about sleeping like the dead a bit more. One problem though." His eyes blinked open as he heard the slightly strange increase in pitch in the last three words. "I can't get up."

"Huh?"

"My arm, and er, leg." He felt something shifting under his right leg and realized it was hooked over one of hers. He quickly let go of her arm and pulled his arm back, but it was so heavy and painful to move. "Okay!" she said quickly as she sat up. She patted him on the back then shoved his leg off of hers. "Somebody's all tuckered out!" Again the voice unusually high, though not hysterical, perhaps nervous? Or embarrassed. He felt her throw the comforter back over him and the bed shifted as she moved away. His fist clenched but he quickly beat back the impulse to grab her. He was injured and weak but could not afford to let his more demonic side take over now… He couldn't trans…form…

Gwen paused at the bottom of the stairs as she felt a prickle at the back of her neck. She didn't much care for the feeling: the feeling of being watched from behind, of being alone, of being in a scary place with something bad about to happen. Maybe it meant that Kurama had left, maybe he'd found some way to get home, or had one all along and used it now that she'd woken him up. 'Well, if he left I'll just tell Mom he found another friend to stay with and didn't want to impose. Though I really hope he hasn't left, I wanted to pester him with questions.' She pursed her lips and resumed walking. The plate of pancakes would have to go in the fridge for now, and the pans would have to be cleaned. She could eat the rest of the bacon herself though, and just 'forget' to save any. Footsteps on the stairs made her turn.

He watched with amusement as her eyes blinked, wide blue orbs showing confusion, disbelief, and something else that made her brow crinkle slightly. As he reached the bottom of the staircase she seemed to decide that what she was seeing was real and her hands clasped under her chin as she let out a high-pitched "Eeeeeeeeee!"

"Eee?" he returned with a slight growl, the noise had lasted far too long in his opinion.

"Holy shit, it's you, you're real, you're here, in my kitchen, Eeeeee!" Several other 'you're…' statements ran through her mind, but they required heavy censoring and didn't make it to her lips.

"Yes, I am real." It seemed to him that her IQ dropped by several points whenever she tried to stop and think. His tail flicked irritably as he scratched his head and watched the strange human girl.

"I made breakfast for you!" She swept a plate off the counter and held it before her beaming face

"For _me_?"

"For Kurama, you answer to that name don't you?"

A smirk turned his lips before they returned to a neutral expression. "Yes I do." He followed her to the kitchen table. The scent of blood lingered, even if she had removed all visible traces of the substance. He slid into the seat he had occupied the night before as she reverently set her burden before him. In an instant a knife, fork, syrup and butter had appeared as well and she was at the refrigerator holding up bottles.

"We have milk and orange juice, there's always water too. Can't make coffee too easily, but I can do tea. Oh, and do you want sugar with the pancakes, now if I was my mother where would I hide it?" She took several steps away from the open ice box before she snapped back from gazing at the cabinets and realized that she had left it open. "Damn!"

"Water," he said and she stopped mid-step, "would be fine, if you think you can manage." She nodded and went back to her flustered movements.

"Don't think I didn't notice the criticism," she said as she set a glass down beside him. She returned to the other side of the counter and picked up another plate. He didn't much care what this little human thought, even if she was feeding him. "Let's play twenty questions."

"Twenty questions?" The fork paused on the plate as he looked over at her. She was smiling in a not-so-innocent manner, somehow managing to show too many teeth.

"Yeah, I get to ask you twenty questions and if you answer them all you get bacon." He eyed the covered plate she was holding.

"And if I don't want to play?"

"Then I eat it all in front of you!"

"You think I would let you?"

"You have no idea how quickly I can shove food in my mouth, and once it's there you won't want it anymore."

He wanted that plate. The smell of bacon was what had convinced him to come down in the first place. "Alright, let's play your little game, but each time I answer a question you have to take a step closer."

"What are you the big bad wolf? I'll take a step every other question. I'm not that far away and you just want to take the food from me you greedy, greedy demon!"

"Ask away insolent human."

"How'd you get here?"

"I passed through a trans-dimensional rip in space-time, otherwise known as a portal."

"Agh, what events led up to your arrival here, like were you fighting someone, or did you trip and step in the wrong hole?"

His eyes narrowed and he stabbed at his food rather more forcefully than was necessary. "I sensed a strange demonic aura and went to investigate it, there was a fight and the demon created a portal, it pushed me through and I am now here."

"Ack I wanted details!"

"That was two questions, take a step."

She pursed her lips and took a baby step. "Have you been in contact with Spirit World since you arrived?"

"Yes."

"What'd they have to say?"

"Don't you want to know when?"

"I already know. When I went upstairs to take a shower, I thought that was what you were going to do. I must not have enough spiritual awareness for your communicator to work for me, but you opened it in front of me and I could tell it worked for you. You're trying to avoid my question." Her foot tapped impatiently as she stared at him, not an ounce of fear in her being.

"So I was. They told me that I am not in my normal human world. There are many dimensions in the universe, even the depth of the demon world represents several planes of existence, but the demon world is most strongly connected to only one version of the human world, my version. Koenma informed me that by all rights I should very well be dead as the weaker connection between versions of the human world makes travel between them almost certainly fatal. They are working on a way to bring me back, hopefully alive, but they don't know how long it will take. Botan made sure to add that Yusuke had defeated the demon after my somewhat abrupt departure and that Kuwabara had merely been transported back to his school. That makes four questions."

She took another step and appeared to be thinking very hard. "Uh, are, have you ever been, or is it possible in the future that you and Hiei are an item?" The piece of pancake that had just found its way into his mouth suddenly found itself back on the plate. "I'll take that expression as a 'no,'" she said, almost taking a step backwards. "Sorry! I had to ask!"

"That counts as three questions," he growled.

"No fair!" But she stepped forward anyway. "So I'm at seven now. Let's see, heh I'm kinda scared to ask this."

"You have yet to show any real fear, a reaction most unusual, especially after your last question."

"You want me to be scared? You're mean, course I did kinda expect that," her eyes rolled to the side before fixing on something on the wall. "Hey, there's a crack there that shouldn't be… Wait, I was asking questions." Her eyes snapped back to him in time to see his disgruntled expression. "Well excuse me for being tired, unlike you I was awakened at six this morning by my little sister's nightmare and the accompanying screams. Are you really a pervert like fic writers like to make you? I'd kill to find out who came up with it first, it's practically fanon, though I haven't seen it in cannon."

"Fic writers?"

"Fanfiction," she blushed suddenly and looked embarrassed. She couldn't even keep eye contact and he shook his head slightly.

"You humans are so strange." He eyed the plate in her hands, judging the distance and estimating her reaction time. It didn't help that he would have to push back the chair to stand up. "You've heard that men think about sex every seven seconds right? It's a slight exaggeration, but I am a normal man. One cannot be a pervert if normal, correct?"

She rolled her eyes and nodded. "Do you like killing, like is it just something you do for fun, or when you're bored?"

"Take a step first human." She did and he thought about the question slightly. "I wouldn't say it tops my 'fun' activities list, though I have done it from boredom, though thieving was my main cure for that. Of course I can't say that I don't enjoy a good fight, and I certainly get satisfaction from eliminating someone who has threatened or bothered me. I think nothing of it. That horrifies you doesn't it?"

Her lips twitched and made her nose wiggle slightly. "Well I mean normally I'd say 'serial killers are the same way' but then that's just in our modern sterile world, if you leave it, by going somewhere else or back in time you'll still find people who think nothing of removing those who annoy or threaten them. So while I'm definitely against it it's not exactly news. Have you told Shiori yet?"

"No. Halfway through," he remarked as she took another step.

"Are you going to?"

"I'm certainly not planning on it."

"Does Kuwabara know that Yukina is-"

"No one's told him."

"You guys sure leave him out a lot don't you?" she said with a frown as she took another step.

"Yes, that makes thirteen, woman."

"What? No fair!"

"I said 'that makes thirteen.' Now you're at fourteen."

"You're evil!" she exclaimed, taking another step. By this point she wasn't about to fight him. It was starting to sink in that this was Yoko Kurama, a very real, very impressive demon. "What are you planning on doing now?"

"Getting that bacon."

"Agh! I mean after that, have you got any long term plans, do you have any idea what you're doing? You can't exactly sit in my house for months waiting for spirit world to do something."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm leaving in two days! Remember?"

"No, and no. I haven't really had a chance to think given that I arrived last night and have spent most of my time here asleep. Another step."

She took it and found herself about two feet away from the demon. His arm shot out and lifted the plate from her hands, in spite of the fact that by his count they were on sixteen. By her count it was more like eleven. She let out a huff and her shoulders sagged as she turned away. Her movement was halted suddenly and she felt fingers tightening around her arm. Her body tensed and her mind raced as she tried to predict what his next move would be, or just figure out what was going on. 'Uh-oh, I bet he's mad about something,' she thought as she turned her head slowly to look back.


	4. Queen of Hide and Seek

4

* * *

Wow, so I take back what I said about people not making M stories, there are plenty out there, the default search setting just leaves them out, wonder why:3 lol

* * *

"Orange juice," he demanded, shaking his empty glass in her direction. She snatched it from his hand and stomped away. He laughed to himself, that was the reaction he'd been expecting all along, the apprehension. Of course it was gone almost as quickly as it had come, but now he knew she was not impervious to fear. But he already knew that, he corrected himself, she had been terrified when she'd asked him if he was dying. He pondered the idea as he tucked into the meat, it was cooked just right, and the orange juice appeared a second later. 

He was thinking about how this girl was actually kind of useful, and what he should be doing next when he felt something odd. His tail flicked as the sensation strengthened. Was she actually _touching_ him? He flicked his left ear back and heard a slight 'he-heh' giggle from the girl. "What are you doing?" he growled, deciding now that she was in fact useless.

"They're just too cute!" she exclaimed, pulling his ears again. "I'm soo sorry to go fangirl on you like this but come on! Fluffy ears," she tugged one to accentuate her point. "And they're so soft, poink poink!" She flapped them up and down and he had to restrain himself from killing her. "You haven't yelled at me yet," she said, concern coloring her voice. "Are you that injured? Or maybe you've reached uber-mad, the point beyond coherent thought and expression."

"Get. Off." He said the two words as bitingly as possible and felt her let go and step away.

"Well can I pull your tail then?" she asked. He turned slowly to glare at her and saw the wide smile, the laughing eyes. She was doing it just to annoy him, probably in retaliation for the bacon. She was teasing him. "Did something not sit well, do you need a TUMs?" she laughed, moving quickly to get away from him.

He was faster though and pushed her into the wall. Not slammed her, he didn't want to actually break her frail body, not yet. "Woman you are bothering me."

"Then leave," she snorted. "I'm not keeping you here. What's that look, you gonna kill me cuz I poked your precious ears? I wonder how many miles you'd have to walk to find another of your fans, I doubt anyone else would take a strange foreigner in, especially a seven foot tall, white haired one with furry ears. And then," she said with a smirk, "how likely is it their living situation would be as cool as mine?" He stared at her for a minute and she stared right back. "Wow, your eyes really are that color, that's so cool!" He sighed and let go of her. She was hopeless, couldn't even be threatened effectively.

He returned to his chair while she walked around the counter and over to the sink. The rush of water from the faucet and the splash and clang of pans being cleaned were the only sounds for several minutes. Once she'd finished she began drying them and putting them away, all without bothering to look at him or say anything. Well he wasn't going to break, he was the infamous thief. He watched from the corner of his eye as she left the room. A second later he heard the clang of the dryer door opening and the distant sound of swishing fabric. He finished eating and downed the rest of his juice.

* * *

She folded her shirt, the last thing to come out of the dryer and pursed her lips. 'Why bother? Ugh, assholes are only amusing when you don't actually have to deal with them. I wish he'd switch back, sure he'd lose the ears, but then I could hit him if he was mean. Slug him right in that big hole in his gut. Is he still injured in this form? He should be…' 

"Something interesting on the wall?" He was not disappointed by her reaction. The shriek was enough, but she jumped too, nearly knocking over the small pile of clothes as she slammed her hand into the metal dryer.

"Fuck you, you bastard!" was the next thing out of her mouth. She was actually shaking slightly and breathing heavily as she glared at him.

"Poor little girl," he smirked.

"I'ma pop you one if you don't march your ass back into the kitchen this second."

"Oh really?" he took a step towards her and she struck out. This was just his day to be amused. He couldn't help laughing as she cradled one injured hand with the other. Her attempt to hit him was just more proof that he had nothing to fear, she couldn't hurt him with brass knuckles. He smirked but managed to keep in his chuckle. But then it was his turn to jump as he felt her latch onto his tail and pull. Scratch that about her not being able to hurt him, she was throwing all her weight into pulling and it hurt like hell.

"I told you to go into the kitchen! Bad fox!" She let go quickly as he spun and swiped at her. The sudden release sent her sprawling on the kitchen floor and caused him to stumble back a few steps. She scrambled to her feet, took one look at him and bolted.

"Damn human," he muttered, going after her. He could feel his time in this form running out but he wanted to get her first. Back in his human form he would be weaker, physically and mentally. He twitched at the thought of his own softness. It was rather disgusting that he had become such a human loving fool. He turned the corner and saw her darting into a room at the front of the house. He hadn't had a chance to see the other rooms yet, his movements had been confined to the back of the house and the guest bedroom. "Caught you," he smirked as he entered the living room. It was empty.

Two couches, a TV cabinet, a table with a lamp on it, where could she bee hiding? He spotted the large book case on the wall next to the door and saw it wasn't pushed all the way into the corner. 'Now I'll get her,' he thought as he stalked forward. He moved quickly to block off all escape from the corner, towering over—nothing. His head jerked around as he heard scuffling and he saw her emerge from behind one of the couches. Behind it! 'But it's up against the wall,' he thought as she came crawling out. Crawling pretty fast for a teenage girl. "Never mess with the queen of hide and seek!" she yelled as she burst from the room.

He let out a low growl and continued the chase, determined not to be made a fool of again. She dashed through the dinning room, pulling the chairs out behind her as she went. It connected to the laundry area which passed back into the kitchen. The large fox demon arrived once more at the beginning and glared around. There hadn't been any footsteps going upstairs or through the family room, so she had to be in here still. He started opening cabinet doors. There was the slightest crinkle of a bag. He stopped to listen, his ears turning in the direction of the sound, there was also, very faintly, breathing. 'The pantry!' He whirled around and ripped the door open, the girl practically falling into his arms. She had somehow managed to compress herself into the narrow space between the pantry shelves and the closed door.

"Damn potato chips!" she yelled as she stumbled forward. "I knew they had it out for me."

He caught her around the waist and pulled her into his chest. "Hm, maybe I should return you to your previous position, a dark confined space seems to suit you."

"Well at least that way I can protect the food from you," she sneered as he made a move to push her back into the pantry. 'Damn,' he thought. She did smell of, what had she called it, 'herbally freshness'? It was distracting him slightly. Instead of pushing her into the pantry he held onto her, it would upset her more anyway.

"Do you know how long it's been since I've held a woman?"

"As long as you've been like that?" she responded, not seeming the slightest bit disturbed.

"Yes. Pathetic human emotions."

"Still not letting anybody close for fear of endangering them?" She patted his arm in a sympathetic manner and he looked down at her. "I might feel like it's been forever since I kissed a guy, but it sure hasn't been twenty or so years!"

"Shouldn't you be telling me to let you go?"

She laughed again and looked up at him. "But your big strong arms are so comforting!" She bit her bottom lip as she tried not to laugh in his face. "Anyway, that's what you wanted me to do isn't it? Frankly I'm one to knee first, yell second. 'Course, it's not like random guys haven't tried a lot more than just holding me close." She leaned in, trying to tease him again, but he refused to be taken in.

"Like what?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he wondered what kind of situations the human got herself into.

"Rubbed up against, grabbed in inappropriate places a couple times, let's just say it pays to have a couple girl friends and a guy or two with you when you go to parties, especially frat parties. You need someone to watch your back. Drunkenness always leads to extreme embarrassment, awkwardness and sometimes worse."

"And this is what you do at your college?"

"Yup. Study, eat, sleep, and party. Course I'm not much of a drinker."

"Why not?" he asked, but he couldn't help thinking it sounded livelier than the school Shuichi Minamino attended. He'd heard before about Americans being wild, but then as Shuichi he didn't go out of his way looking for that kind of excitement.

"I'm crazy enough already!" she replied with a shocked look. "I really hate the idea of not being in control of myself and liquor is just so nasty." She tried to gesture but found herself unable to wave her arms around. He watched as she began to grow pink in the face, but she kept talking, trying to play it off. "Moving on, what are you going to do? Are you coming to school with me?"

"Is that an option?"

"Well I did kinda tell my mom you go there, so she'd probably be fine with driving you down with us. You Shuichi you, not you right now you."

"You're turning out to be a very useful human," he smirked, patting her on the head.

"Don't get cocky," she snapped, pushing against his chest. "Or I'll turn you over to my friends."

"What kind of threat is that?" He smiled down at her as she realized her pushing was having no effect on his hold.

"You don't know my friends," she laughed and stepped on his foot, grinding her heel into it.

"Oh damn," he said suddenly, looking off at the wall. "Time's up." She felt the prickle at the back of her neck again and gasped as a silvery mist shrouded the outside world from view. She felt the person holding her changing and didn't know what to do; this was way too strange to be real.

"I'm sorry," she heard a voice say as the mist cleared.

* * *

Kurama was red-haired and fluffy-ear free once more. He sagged against her suddenly and she let out an exclamation of surprise as she caught him and staggered back under his weight. "You were supposed to sleep more and rest, but you've been running all over the house chasing me!" 

"I'm afraid I have more energy in my demon form," he replied and gently removed himself from her arms. He took a step away and leaned on the counter. His head hung forward, throwing his hair over his shoulders to obscure his face.

"You should sit down," she said as she watched his labored breathing. "You really aren't doing well." She stepped forward and pulled some hair back from his face as she peered at him. "I hope you're not getting an infection. I really should have done more to clean that stomach wound!"

"No, I'm fine. You did much more than you—um Gwen?" He winced as she slipped his uninjured arm around her neck and began pulling him towards the stairs.

"Back to bed or something with you, you can't just stand sweating over the counter."

"A bath would be nice," he sighed, letting the girl lead him upstairs.

"Yeah, you are probably still pretty grimy. Oh but we don't have like a Japanese bath!" She paused in the middle of the staircase to think and he watched with some apprehension as she proceeded to rub her chin. "But we do have the big soaking tub in the master bath. That works right?"

"What's the difference?" he asked, too tired and worn out to be able to remember the peculiarities of American bathing habits.

"Well you guys have a room with the tub in it, and you wash first then get in the tub to soak right? I normally shower," she laughed a little and they started moving up again. "But we wash _in_ the bathtub, not next to it. Hey, when I stuck your head in the sink and washed all the nasty leaves and pond scum out I didn't like also wash out the seeds you use for fighting, did I? There aren't going to be vines of death coming up through the garbage disposal are there?"

"No, there won't be any killer vines growing in your sink. I'm afraid by the time I arrived here I had no ready weapons left."

"Ah, sucks for you but good for me."

He found himself suddenly deposited on the side of a bathtub as the girl flitted away. Bottles lined the back edge of the tub and filled two little shelves that projected from the wall. He let his eyes wander over the brightly colored liquids and strange English names. 'Herbal Essences?' He opened the top and sniffed delicately. He wasn't actually as incapacitated as the girl thought; it would have taken far more injuries to weaken him as much as she seemed to think he was. It was the transformation into his yoko form and then back again that had thrown him off so much. He reached for another bottle as she returned with a couple fluffy towels, a fresh roll of bandages, the bottle of peroxide, and his clothes.

"I know you probably want to take care of yourself but if you need help with anything let me know!" she said quickly as she set everything down. Her eyes flicked over everything before settling on his clothes, well really her clothes that he was currently wearing. "Uh, I should probably wash those too, while everyone's out so they don't wonder why you're wearing my stuff."

"One moment please," he said, standing up. Her eyes widened and she gave him a horrified look before hurrying from the room and pulling the door closed behind her. He had to restrain himself from laughing, remembering how painful it was with his stomach wound. 'Of all the things to make her panic…'

The door opened and she closed her eyes, even though her back was towards it. "Here they are, I truly appreciate how much you're doing for me," he said and she heard him drop something on the floor but all she could think of was how he needed to go back in the bathroom and Close the Damn Door. She waved dismissively without turning around and sighed with relief when she heard the click of the door closing firmly.

'Okay, time for another load, good thing there's a full hamper up here.' She scooped up the clothes and dumped them in the hamper before hoisting the basket and carrying it downstairs. She threw everything in the laundry and went to get dressed.

* * *

yay reviews, they make me happy! I normally hit the reply button to respond but I have to put my thank you to Jade here: thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like this story and all the craziness that goes into it, there's sure to be plenty more.  



	5. Naked, it's not okay

5

* * *

love to my reviewers! responses at the end. Well I popped this out much sooner than I expected, mostly because I spent the weekend doing homework and needed to do something fun to de-stress the brain. Voila!

* * *

About an hour later she was in the family room once more, munching a sandwich and flipping through channels on the TV. She settled on a mindless show and let her brain slowly stupefy as she ate, it was the American Way after all. Footsteps coming down the stairs were not enough to rouse her from the stupor. "Miss Gwen?" 

"Ungh?" she grunted in response.

"Is the laundry done?"

Now this was enough to make her think, a little. "Uh, no, still in the dryer. Why?" She turned to look at her questioner and blinked. She blinked again and turned away quickly, slapping a hand to the side of her face. "Ah! Put some pants on! What are you doing walking around in a towel!"

"I would," Kurama responded slowly, obviously trying not to snap at her. "Except for the fact that I cannot get dressed until the laundry is done."

"But I gave you back your clothes. What… oh… ohhh. Uh yeah, the dryer's not done yet."

"Yes you said that." He let out a sigh and began walking towards the kitchen. "Maybe you can help me with these bandages then."

"Hey where do you think you're going!" she yelled, leaping over the back of the couch to block his way. "You can't go out there, there are big windows!"

"And?"

"And I have neighbors! Neighbors who will wonder why you're walking around naked! It's not okay." 'Actually, it's more than okay.'

"I'm not naked," he said defensively as he stopped and looked around the family room for a place to sit. She turned her attention back to her inner monologue.

'Okay brain, now if you really just said what I think you said we need to have a talk.'

'Please, you're the brain, I'm the raging teenage hormones.'

'Riight, those. God, why do they always pop up at the worst times? Like right now.' She pinched her eyes closed and turned away so she wouldn't stare at him. 'And every other time there's a shirtless guy around.'

"Gwen, are you alright?"

"I have a headache," she said quickly, rubbing her face. "I'm gonna go check on that dryer." She hurried from the room, nearly bumping into the counter in the kitchen and suffering a brief collision with the doorway into the laundry room. He wondered if she still had her eyes closed.

* * *

'No, not done yet. Agh what am I supposed to do? Besides go back out there and gawk at him of course. AGH! Bad hormones, Bad!' While Gwen was occupied by fighting with her thoughts, Kurama had found a comfy armchair and was looking through the books on the coffee table. 'Bad raging hormones, making me think bad things that would never happen! Unless maybe I grew three inches and dropped a pound or two,' she thought furiously as she bumped her head against the wall. But she bumped it gently, so she wouldn't actually hurt herself. 'Well I can't keep hiding out in here, that's just too sketchy. Damn, I'm sketchy. No, no I'm not, but my thoughts are.' Her laugh sounded forced even to herself as she walked back into the kitchen, intent on overcoming her distraction. She opened the fridge and started rifling through the contents. 

"It's still not done, you want anything to eat, or maybe something to drink?" she called with her head still in fridge.

"No thank you, I'm still full from breakfast. I'm afraid I ate too much," he mumbled and she looked up over the open door.

"What the hell are you doing?" She stood up straight and leaned on the door to watch him as he fumbled with roll of bandages he had brought down. He had the roll in his left hand, one end in his mouth and was trying to twist the part between around his right arm.

"I am trying to wrap the laceration on my bicep, I thought that was apparent," he said, dropping the end from between his teeth.

"You're never gonna get it done like that!" She pushed the door closed and walked into the family room, shaking her head and grabbing a pair of scissors off the counter. "Let me help."

He held out the roll for her and stuck out his arm. "If you wish to try be my guest."

"No need to be all pissy, I only want to help you not look ridiculous."

"I do not look ridiculous."

"Want me to run upstairs and get my camera while you try eating the bandages again?"

"Gwen," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. "I'm being short with you, I know, please forgive me. But you have a tendency to get easily distracted and say very random things that are, at the moment, not helpful. Eh?"

"You switched into Japanese again there," she said with an amused shake of her head. He was surprised though because while he had been talking she had trimmed the bandage and started winding it up his arm. "That's probably way too tight, isn't it?"

"Actually it's fine. You've done this before?"

"A couple times," she said flipping her hair out of the way and rubbing an eye. "Wrapped a couple sprains and as a kid I had a bad habit of getting banged up, so I've had the most practice on my knees. Joints are such a bitch though! Now tying off is something I was never able to get down." She poked the bandaged oddly between a couple layers, twisting it around and tying it back to itself.

"Ah yes, it would have been easier if you had only done that once."

"Damnit. You should have said something!"

"You looked like you were concentrating. I didn't want to disturb you."

"You're so mean!" She bopped him upside his head and stepped back out of reach. There was a loud buzzing noise and she jumped, her head jerking around to see where it was coming from. "Oh, the dryer, yay!" And she was gone in a second.

She reappeared a minute later the clothes clasped in her hands. They came tumbling from her grip and cascaded onto the couch across from where he was sitting. "I'm going to have to take you clothes shopping," she grumbled as she dug through the pile until she found the garment she was looking for. She pulled it out, balled it up, and threw it at him. "'Cuz I'm sure as hell not doing laundry everyday so you can have clean boxers. Agh, awkwardness!" she exclaimed, covering her face and shaking her head as she thought about it. "I can give you twenty bucks and send you into Target on your own right? And I'll just wait outside with the car. But what if you get stolen!"

"Gwen, I only partially understand what you are trying to say," he responded as she turned a worried frown on him.

"Next time you talk to Spirit World can you ask them to like, wire you some money or something? You said living things can't get through the dimensions, but can you do trans-dimensional money-transfers or would that violate the laws of nature?"

"I'm going to go get dressed now." He got to his feet slowly.

"Hey, I'm just thinking about how I'm going to feed you! I have a meal plan. Well I mean, you could always try mooching off people. You could just go up to girls and tell them you forgot your ID and ask if they would pretty please cover you just thsi once. And there are a couple thousand girls at my school, plenty of willing victims."

"I'll talk to Koenma about money," he said quickly as he headed for the stairs.

Gwen chuckled to herself in the slightly evil manner of someone whose secret machinations are running smoothly and according to plan.

* * *

Kurama came back downstairs several minutes later, fully dressed, much to Gwen's relief. Though at the same time, she couldn't help thinking that she wouldn't mind seeing him shirtless again. She smacked herself in the face. 

"Gwen-san, are you alright?"

"You're a bad influence on me!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him.

His eyebrows rose slightly as he looked at her, but put this outburst up to her being a strange American. "Koenma said he would see what he could do about money," he said by way of changing the subject. "It seems he has been able to get in contact with whoever is in charge of death and spirits here; he doesn't seem to be getting on too well with them though."

"Pfff, why not? Do they just sit on their asses playing dice with fate instead of actually trying to determine when people should be dying based on their characteristics?"

"Actually," he said, glancing out the window. "That was about the gist I got. He seems to think they're irresponsible and slightly unbalanced."

"Well, that would explain some things. Looks like the ancient Greeks were kinda right. Do you ever wonder about the random cruelty of life, or have you just come to accept it?" She was sitting on the couch, folding the clothes and looked up at him as he walked towards her.

"I think I have always just accepted it as the way things are, not the most pleasant way to live, but something we can do nothing about on a large scale." He picked up a shirt and began folding it. "We can only really try to buffer ourselves and those around us from the current." He set down the shirt and picked up a pair of pants. "But really I don't think the world is a terrible place. It is very violent, but still filled with beauty."

"I never said it was terrible," she said as she shook out a towel, "just scary. Oh, you fold clothes weird."

"To me it appears that you are the one folding them strangely."

She stuck out her tongue at him and reached for another shirt. "My way is always the right and best way, didn't you know that? Well now you do. Gwen is always right because she's perfect, keep that in mind."

"Gwen refers to herself in third person?"

"When the occasion demands and Gwen finds it acceptable, yes," she said, keeping a straight face and turning up her nose as she stacked all the folded clothes.

"I'll help you carry those," he said, moving forward to take the clothes as she stood up.

"No way! Your arm is injured, you're not picking stuff up. And here I thought you were smart," she huffed, lifting the stack so she could just barely see over the top as she walked.

"Gwen, there's a step there!"

"I know, I know," she said. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs one foot delicately probing the air in front of her for where the first step was. Once she found it she stepped up and quickly tripped up the rest of the stairs. Kurama tensed, waiting for her to come tumbling down, clothes flying everywhere, but the catastrophe never occurred and a few minutes later she came bouncing back down the stairs, safe and sound.

"Okay so we have to make up a good cover story for why my roommate should let you live in our room, and why everyone else should think it's not too weird that you're staying with me for God knows how long." She plopped down on the couch and looked at him expectantly.

"I thought you did very well making up a story on the spot last night." He sat down in the arm chair he had occupied previously and crossed his legs as he looked at her sprawled form.

"Yeah, well that was when I thought I'd become mentally unbalanced, now I'm serious! So come on Mr. Smartypants you've got to have a brilliant plan or five in your head."

"Well I hadn't really thought about it," he admitted. The little thought he had given the matter had dismissed it as something the girl would take care of. Up to this point he had been coasting, depending on her quick thinking and decisive actions. Such things were completely out of character for him. The situation he found himself in was certainly jarring, unsettling, even frightening in some ways, but that was no excuse for him to let some little human do all the work. He gave himself a mental kick in the ass and began seriously thinking about their problem.

They spent the next few hours throwing out ideas, debating them and ripping through anything that had a noticeable hole. Gwen got out her computer at one point and pulled up webpage after webpage, reading off paragraphs on American immigration policy and Japanese consulates. By the time her parents got home they had a working story involving a mugging, lost passport, misdirected luggage and the INS.

"Oh Damn!" Gwen exclaimed as she heard a car door slam from the driveway. "We forgot to flesh out the story for my parents!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, worried by the panic in her voice.

"I mean I told Mom that you go to my school! She'll want to ask you about your classes, your major, how we met, what dorms you've lived in, all that stuff!"

"Here, open your school's website and let me see your computer. I should be able to come up with something quickly."

"God I hope so!" she said as she handed him her laptop and went to answer the front door.

* * *

Doing responses here cuz one was anon, and then I felt too lazy to reply separately to the rest :P 

**InuKurama**: Hilarious? I don't think he'd appreciate that, lol. I'm glad you liked it, but I don't know if Yoko will be making a reappearance (even though I adored writing him).

**Celedeen Tachibana:** woo another update! hope you were excited for this one too : )

**MangasFan:** Always happy to oblige! ; )

**Lady-Crymsyn:** thanks! I hope you still think this is reasonable, if a bit silly :D


	6. A Boy in the House

6

* * *

Woot for stress relief, i.e. writing escapist fanfiction, lol. Though how escapist is it when my little plot is slowly driving them closer to the place I actually am—school? (really, really escapist :D) I completely forgot I was supposed to go to two meetings at the same time tonight and so missed them both, agh.

* * *

"Hey Mom how was wor—ouff, aggghhhhh! Get off!" 

Kurama started as he heard a body thud to the floor and Gwen's shout.

"I'm not your horsey! Mom, help!"

"Yes you are! Go Horsey, Go!" A high-pitched voice cackled madly from the front of the house, causing the hair along the back of his neck to stand on end. "Mommy told me you have a **Boy** over! What's he look like? Where'd he come from? Where is he? Is he your boyfriend? Does he go to your school? What's his name? Can I see him?"

"Oh my god, get off me munchkin! I can't breathe!"

"Bella, get off your sister, you're too big to sit on her like that." That was definitely the mother's voice, coming from slightly closer than the other two. Kurama shook his head, forcing himself to ignore the continuing fight in the foyer and search the school's website.

There was the noise of scuffling then the girl's voice pierced the quiet of the house again. "So where is he?"

"Jeeze, this is why I don't bring people home, you always want to attack them."

"Moooommmm! Gwen's being mean!"

"Gwen, don't tease your sister like that, she's only nine."

"Old enough," the teenager muttered.

There were footsteps in the hallway coming towards the family room. Kurama straightened in his seat and let his eyes flick over the webpage one last time as he took a deep breath. He would have to depend on his infamous intelligence, and probably a bit of his almost as notorious charm. The great thief, spending his days tricking middle-aged, human women into thinking he was just a nice human boy, who could ever have predicted his life would take such a turn? It was probably something he should have considered before implanting his soul in a human body, but it was too late for second thoughts. Much too late.

"Ah hello there Kurama." He looked up to see Gwen's mother, Mrs. Finnegan, as she set her purse down on the kitchen counter. "I hope you had a nice day, though I'm afraid you were probably bored out of your mind watching Gwen do her chores."

"Good evening Mrs. Finnegan," he responded with a friendly smile. "I hope your work day was not too stressful?"

The woman's eyes crinkled slightly in amusement. "I think I lost count of our code blues today, and on top of that madness and my usual patients and their families we had someone in from the pysch ward. I had to call security twice when one of the male nurses got bitten. So I'm afraid that it was actually a bit more stressful than usual."

"Moomm, I'm hungry!" Gwen called as she walked into the room, dragging one leg, attached to which was her little sister. Her little sister was not so little. She was at least armpit height when standing and Gwen was having trouble hauling her into the room.

"Well dear I just got home, do you expect me to pull a fully cooked meal out of thin air and hand it to you?"

"Yes! That would be awesome, I'm **hungry**!"

Her mother merely rolled her eyes and walked away from her daughter.

"Hey, at least I got stuff ready for you! I marinated the chicken and made the salad."

"Oh, you did." Mrs. Finnegan seemed surprised as she pulled a bowl out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter. "Good job honey. Did you vacuum and dust down here?"

"Yup."

"When did you do that?" Kurama asked. He hadn't seen her working besides washing dishes and doing laundry.

"Before you got your lazy butt up," she smirked at him.

She walked into the kitchen and he was surprised to see that her sister had gotten off her leg. The little girl was now standing behind her sister, watching him as she held onto the older girl's shirt. He had to wonder at the change in her behavior, only a minute ago he had heard her yelling and seen her climbing on the teen. Now she was acting like a shy, innocent little child.

"Don't let her fool you," Gwen said and Kurama's gaze shifted from the girl to her. "She's playing coy; it's her way of luring you in. Then she springs."

"_Gwen_!" the little girl whined. "Don't say that." She tugged frantically on her sister's shirt until the older girl bent down. Then she whispered in her ear, her eyes fixed on Kurama.

"Tell him yourself! He won't bite."

"No! You tell him!"

Gwen sighed and rolled her eyes. "She thinks you're cute," she said to Kurama. Her little sister giggled and peaked at him from behind Gwen. He merely stared back at her, unsure of how to respond. "Cute, you know, 'kawaii' or whatever it is." She paused but he continued to stare back at her without any intention of responding. "Jeeze Kurama, you're supposed to say: 'oh and aren't you just the cutest little girl I've ever seen!' No experience with kids." She shook her head.

"I didn't know there was a specific response required."

"Exactly! Of course Bella here is very tricky, she normally knows what to say to get a boy to compliment her."

"Gwen! You're so mean to me! I don't do that. I'm not tricky, boys just like me." She stamped over to the pantry and pulled open the door. "I want cookies."

"Watch out," Gwen said as she sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. "The assault has just begun."

He didn't have a chance to ask what she meant by that because the front door was opening once more, and this time it was her father coming in. "Daddddyyyy!" Bella squealed as she ran to greet him. She was swept into the air and spun around as Mr. Finnegan entered the room.

"There's my little girl! So how was everybody's day?" Kurama noticed the man had his eldest daughter's curly brown locks, albeit much shorter, while his younger daughter shared her mother's straight hair. He was also around six foot, which meant Gwen's lack of height came mostly from her mother, since they were both a good two inches shorter than Kurama.

"A nightmare," Mrs. Finnegan replied as she threw something into the oven. "How about yours?"

"Ah, same as usual, nothing exploded, so that was good."

"Nothing exploded, nice one Dad."

"Ah, there's my little Gwen, cheerfully sarcastic as usual. So where's this boy your mother and I left you alone with all day?"

"_Dad_," the syllable was a whine, expressing the girl's embarrassment and annoyance at the implications not so subtly stated by her father's question. "He's sitting right there." She pointed.

Kurama quickly put the laptop aside and got to his feet. He stepped forward as Mr. Finnegan put Bella down and the older man leaned over a chair to shake his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Finnegan."

"Nice to meet you too, uh," he snapped a couple times and the boy smiled patiently.

"Kurama Minamino."

"Kurama, yeah, that's what Betty said. And you're a junior in college, right?"

"Correct, sir."

"Oh, his speech gets even more formal," Gwen laughed. "I think that means you're intimidating him, Dad."

"Intimidating? I haven't even begun the serious questioning yet! That will have to wait until after dinner."

Kurama sweatdropped.

"Honey, why don't you put out the plates since you're up?"

"Alright," Mr. Finnegan turned away from the family room and went into the kitchen, breaking off for the moment.

* * *

A few minutes later everything was in place, the food was cooking and the table was set. Mrs. Finnegan headed upstairs to change and Gwen's father dropped into the unoccupied arm chair across from Kurama. The little girl had run off somewhere and Gwen was watching the news from the couch between them. 

"So who's your favorite football team?"

"Dad, he's Japanese, and he learned British English," Gwen said quickly.

"Oh right, that explains the accent, well as long as he's not a Colts fan. So did you watch the world cup?"

Kurama had been preparing for questions on his major, classes he'd taken, dorms he'd lived in or been too. Gwen had even left facebook open so he could flip through the list of her friends and have some names to throw out in conversation. He thought they might ask a barrage of questions about Japan, his culture, and troubles he'd had adjusting. He hadn't been expecting sports.

"I saw some of it, but was busy with school work."

"Over the summer?"

"I took an additional course at home this summer."

"So what are you majoring in?"

"Biology, with a focus in botany."

"What kind of job prospects are you looking at?"

"Work in a research lab for companies interested in genetic engineering."

"That's gotta be a competitive field, but does it make money?"

"I believe so, sir."

"Gwen, you need to bring home more boys that answer with 'sir.'"

"_Dad_, we're just friends."

"Is that true?" This question was directed at Kurama.

"Yes, sir."

"Then why are you calling me 'sir' like that?"

"Because it is appropriate to a man of your position. Am I not using it correctly?" Inwardly, he was confident that he was, but his face still showed some hesitation.

Mr. Finnegan let out a short laugh and smiled at the demon. "Just don't call Betty 'ma'am,' it always breaks her heart, especially from kids like you."

"I'll keep it in mind—" Kurama hesitated, unsure of whether he could use the term of address or not.

"What, aren't you going to call me 'sir,' boy?"

"Ah, yes sir," Kurama said quickly.

Mr. Finnegan started laughing and Gwen shot him a glare. "Dad, stop giving him a hard time. Kurama, ignore my father. He's just messing with you."

"So how did the two of you meet?" Mrs. Finnegan asked as she came down the stairs in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Through friends of friends, that kind of thing. I think I went over to your dorm or something," she said giving Kurama a curious look, her mouth twisting into a thoughtful frown.

"Yes, I believe you came with Bev, she knew someone on my hall."

"Yeah, that sounds right. Yay for freshman girls wandering upperclassmen guys' halls."

He shook his head and gave her a stern look. "It most certainly is not the wisest method of making friends. I hope you are not planning on a similar course of action this year."

"See this year I'm going to be living on an upperclassman hall, and I'll actually know the guys on other halls."

"As long as you don't go wandering around alone at night, young lady," her mother said sternly.

"And stay out of those boys' rooms!" Her father added his two cents. "You can't trust 'em."

Gwen made a noise that turned into a cough and put her hand in front of her mouth. "Why can't you trust boys?" Bella asked, choosing the awkward moment to enter the conversation. Gwen's 'coughing' intensified.

"Daddy's just joking," Mrs. Finnegan said quickly. "So Kurama, do you know a lot of Gwen's friends?"

"Just in passing mostly. I don't really know any of them very well."

"Yeah, just kind of general hanging out in a big group, you don't really get to know everyone too well," Gwen said, shooting him a warning look. The expression clearly told him if he denied her friends too much her parents would question how they knew each other.

"So what did you two do today?"

"I'm afraid I'm still suffering the after-effects of jetlag," Kurama smiled faintly. "And I slept until noon."

"I thought that was normal college kid behavior," her father joked. "So Gwen, you're jet-lagged every day?"

"Of course I am," she shot back. "That's why I got up this morning and cleaned, then cooked breakfast."

"But we spent most of the afternoon talking and catching up."

"Oh yes, you must have had a lot to talk about. So where in Japan do you live?" Mrs. Finnegan again for the save.

Here he was on firmer ground. From what they had been able to figure out the general state of the world was almost the same in both planes of existence, but the names of politicians were different. The geography remained unchanged and he was able to tell them in great detail about where he lived. He was describing the Japanese school system and what high school had been like for him when timers began beeping in the kitchen and there was another flurry of activity as everyone rushed around. A few minutes later they were all seated around the kitchen table. Kurama for some reason, found it mildly amusing that Mr. Finnegan now occupied the chair he had sat in the night before and this morning.

"Well I guess it might have made more sense to sit in the dinning room," Mrs. Finnegan said as she shifted her chair down to make some more room. "But I didn't think of it until just now."

"I bet you see the family resemblance," Gwen whispered as she reached for the salt. "Only a day and a half to go."

* * *

Woo for number 6 -happy dance- I actually had trouble breaking this one up into parts, so that worries me, I hope it cmae ouot okay. I put in so much of the family because I wanted to establish thier characters, but was worried there's too much of them... oh well  



	7. 50lb Imps and Personal Bubbles

7

* * *

So doing work sucks...bad, hahaha. Oh man I'm so far behind bursts into tears but I hope you like the new chapter at least! On another note: yay for them fixing the page breaks! no more inserting them with html!

* * *

At dinner the questions continued but luckily they all stayed on the topic of Japan. Finally her parents decided to leave him alone and ended up describing their work days to each other and comparing the mishaps of the day. He was more than a little relieved to have the attention shift focus but it seemed there was at least one person present who was still interested in him. When ever he looked to his left, Bella, Gwen's little sister, was staring at him. She'd quickly look away when they made eye contact, but then as soon as he looked away he could feel her watching him again. 

"I told you it had only just begun," Gwen joked after about the sixth time it happened, before she went back to heckling her mother over some incident that had occurred at her work.

After dinner they all cleared the table and began to disperse. "I'm gonna go finish packing," Gwen said as her sister dive-bombed the couch.

"Would you like me to help?" Kurama's offer came out a bit too quickly for his own tastes, but he was unwilling to be left downstairs with her parents, and especially her little sister.

"Yeah, you can probably think of a million things I've forgotten, come on."

"Oh, you two are going upstairs?" Mrs. Finnegan called after them.

Gwen stopped on the staircase and turned to face her mother. She was tapping her foot and put her hands on her hips as she pursed her lips. "Come on now Mom, we were _alone_ together a**ll** **day** today, so I really don't think him helping me pack is something you should be worried about. And," she said with a huff, "I thought you knew I'm smarter than that."

"Well I just wanted to be sure honey, you never know."

With a sigh Gwen turned and continued up the stairs, the slightly disturbed demon a few steps behind her.

"Sorry about my mom, my parents in general and my sister," she said as they reached the second floor. "Everyone in this house is crazy."

"They seem very nice and loving."

"They're loving in their special way, but they're behaving for you right now. Really, they're crazy." They turned right and went down the hall into her room. "So my stuff's still everywhere. Pretty much it'll be a disaster in here until I put all this junk in the car."

Kurama looked around the room and found himself shocked by the magnitude of the chaos. Clothes were piled on the bed and spilled across the floor in a trail to the front of the dresser. Shoes were strewn before the closet and bags and boxes covered the floor. The bookcase next to one of the windows seemed to be the only thing with some form of organization, most of the books there were neatly crammed together, though there were occasional gaps and some were piled on top of others.

"I'm not normally this bad," she said defensively before he could even comment. "Oh and I have to put my manga back, you left some in the guest room right?" She flitted past him and he was left to examine the room. He looked over the boxes and bag on the floor, glancing in open ones or reading labels and realized that there were some patterns here, disguised as chaos.

"Have you got your school supplies?" he asked as she came back and began inserting the manga back in their spots on the bookshelf. "Yeah, that's in the one under the gym bag, with my cups, plates and silverware."

"Do you know where everything is?"

"Pretty much. Except I haven't packed my clothes yet, that's why they're everywhere."

"So would I actually be helpful?"

"No, but it would be cruel to leave you alone down there. Bella will be up soon enough. You can just read something and sit out of the way."

He quirked an eyebrow at her but took the suggestion anyway. He was worn out from the stress of the day and the fact that he had not healed yet. All he really wanted to do was to go to bed, but a quiet read would be a nice preliminary. He looked over her book case while she began throwing her clothes around her bed, sorting them into piles. He recognized English classics he had read or heard mentioned in school and a few titles that had been bestsellers in recent years. Then there was an assortment of books he didn't recognize, things that just weren't famous enough for him to have heard of. And finally there was her manga. She had quite a lot of it; the books of _Yuyu Hakusho_ didn't even make up a major portion of her collection, but a good deal of it was shounen manga.

"So I'm a tomboy, so sue me," she said. He glanced up from the copy of _Rurouni Kenshin_ he was flipping through to see her folding a pink skirt and placing it next to a frilly blue one as she watched him.

"Tomboy?"

"Uh, girl who likes stuff normally associated with boys, like fighting games, action movies, wearing pants, rejecting things considered girly."

"How many skirts have you got over there?"

"That's beside the point," she said, her eyes shifting to the side.

"I was not passing judgment on the fact that you have the tastes in manga of a fifteen year-old boy," he said with a smile, "merely seeing if I recognized any of the titles."

"You are not a nice person," she huffed, picking up a shirt and folding it. The smile dropped from his face and he turned to look at her but she was busy with her clothes.

* * *

Just as she had said her sister appeared after a few minutes. Kurama was sitting under the window, beside the bookcase and at first the little girl didn't see him.

"Gwen! Where's your friend, he didn't leave did he?" She ran forward and almost jumped on her sister's bed but stopped when she saw the mess.

"No he's still here. Don't' pester him too much, you hear?"

"I'm not gonna bother him weirdo. You're the one who annoys people, that's why you don't have a boyfriend."

"Ouch kid, you sure know what's wrong with me," the older girl replied in a deadpan and went back to her packing.

Seeing that she was not going to get a rise out of her sister Bella began edging towards Kurama. He kept his nose in the book he was reading and tried to ignore her. She continued to come closer though.

"Hi."

"Hello." He glanced up from his book to find her standing a few feet away.

"Why is your hair long like a girl's?"

There was a snort from the other side of the room but Gwen did not seem to be about to help him out. "I prefer to keep my hair like this."

"Yeah but why? Do you braid it sometimes, or put it up?"

"No."

"Do your friends like to play with your hair? In my school we braid each other's hair during recess."

"No, they don't."

"Oh." She came a bit closer and sat down next to him. "What are you reading?"

"One of your sister's poetry anthologies."

"Does it have any pretty poems that you can read me?" She scooted closer until she could lean her head on his shoulder and she tucked her arms around the crook of his arm.

"Bella, what have I told you about personal space!" Gwen snapped. "You can't just get touchy with everybody you meet. Bubbles, remember I told you about bubbles?"

Bella stuck her tongue out at her sister who was shaking her head. "What about bubbles?" Kurama asked.

"Gwen's a weirdo who hates love; she never lets anyone touch her."

"There is a big difference between a nice hug and being clung to! When you have some fifty pound imp hanging from you for hours on end you develop a love of personal space." She made a motion with her hands like she was outlining a figure in the air. "Personal bubbles other people need to stay out of."

He had to agree, he had never been a great one for physical affection. Even his mother, who he loved dearly, was rarely graced with an embrace. It was more than a little uncomfortable and awkward to have this child now clutching his arm in such a familiar manner. He was sure normal humans would find it very cute and families probably found it a desirable quality to have such affectionate children, but he was not human, nor her family, and wanted her off.

"Okay, Bella, get off Kurama, he's being very nice but he doesn't want you hanging on him."

The girl pouted and took a firmer grip on his arm. "But I like him."

It took Gwen only a few paces to close the distance between the bed and her sister. She towered over the smaller girl, one arm extended, a finger pointing towards the door. She was oddly imposing from this angle, and apparently aware of the fact. "Out. Munchkin. Now. Unless you want me to tell Mom you're bothering us."

With a huff the little girl let go of his arm and stood up, she stomped out of the room, forcefully bumping into her sister as she passed. A second later Gwen followed in her footsteps and carefully closed the door to the bedroom. She paused, staring at the handle. "Normally I would lock it, but with you in here that would make it way too sketch. Let's hope Teen Titans are on or something to keep her occupied." And with that she went back to packing.

* * *

In less than two hours she had given the room a far greater semblance of order by getting most of her clothes packed and her suitcases into a neat pile beside the dresser. She gave a great, exhausted sigh and plopped down on the floor a few feet away from him. She pulled her feet close to her body as her legs bent up and she rocked forward slightly. 

"Finished?"

"For now. So what do you do in your free time at home, not just read right?"

He looked up from the poetry anthology and smiled at the girl. "Well I do enjoy reading in my free time, what little I have between working for my stepfather's company and doing school work."

"Do you hang out with the old gang a lot?"

"Mm, not so much," he said, his responses getting quieter. He was looking down at the book, giving subtle signals that he was not interested in continuing the conversation. "We have gone rather separate ways and it can be difficult to find a convenient time for everyone to meet."

"What about people from high school? I hardly see most of them because I was the only one going to my college, but my good friends I still get together with during breaks."

"I see Kaito and a few others on occasion, but rather infrequently as our majors are in different departments."

"Any girls?"

"No."

"Do you do clubs at school?"

"Gwen please," he said. The book snapping shut was abrupt and she looked slightly startled to see his frustrated expression.

"Sorry," she said, holding her hands up with her open palms towards him. "I didn't mean to pester you. I guess I'm as bad as my sister."

She got to her feet and wandered away. He couldn't help feeling some regret over snapping at her, though it wasn't like he knew her, or like she had any right to inquire into his private life. She could read all about that anyway, couldn't she?

Gwen sat down on the other side of the room and pulled her backpack over to her side. Kurama quietly watched as she rooted through it. She pulled out a book and flipped it open. Apparently she planned on sitting there and reading for the rest of the evening. He duly noted the furrowed brow and intense stare she was directing at the pages of _Jane Eyre_ and the way her jaw was tense, like she was trying to hold back some inappropriate comment. He opened the anthology again.

She was trying to concentrate on the text but was too irritated to actually comprehend the sentences her eyes were wandering over. 'I take him in, fix him up and feed him, put up with him chasing me around the house and turning into a freaking demon on me, I'm lying to my parents and going to take him to school with me and he gets all pissy when I ask a couple questions! Sorry for trying to get to know the stranger who's going to be living in my dorm room, I guess I'm not supposed to bother him after his long day of sleeping in and eating. What about my long day? I've been up since six this morning, not that I wanted to be!' She glanced up from the page to see him looking at her.

"What are you looking at?"

"You," he replied simply.

"Why?" she snapped. She noted with growing annoyance that the back of her neck was growing hot and she was afraid soon her face would be burning. Why she should be blushing was beyond her, and it made her even more annoyed.

"Gwen! Goodnight!" Her mother's call interrupted the staring contest between the teens and sent the girl bouncing towards the door.

"Night Mom! Night Bella Butt!"

"Night wissy sissy!" the little girl called back from down the hall.

"Perhaps that is a sign that I too should go to bed," Kurama said from behind her.

She turned in the doorway to see him setting the book down on the bookshelf and walking towards her. She barely had time to move out of the way and he patted her gently on the shoulder as he passed before disappearing into the guest room.

'Agh! He's doing it on purpose!' thought the agitated girl as she shut her bedroom door and leaned her back against it. Her feet slipped across the carpet and she slowly sunk to the floor. 'He knows I'm attracted to him and he's just messing with me, the bastard.'

* * *

So I'm going to be lazy again and respond to Ch 6 reviews here. I tell myself it's not that lazy since I already have to answer two ppl here, lol.

**cher-cher91**: I never get tired of hearing it! lol, though i'm afriad this wasn't very soon, i wish I could insert the little sweat-drop emoticon here but the editor always removes them

**Lady-Crymsyn: **thanks again!

**Chibified Doom: **I just have to say I adore your username, it's too funny! yeah, I want to play around with the question of whether it was a good idea or not, but I want to keep this pretty light, so we'll see how that goes.

**Celedeen-Tachibana**: lol yeah, it's hard to give suggestions when something's just kind of meandering along, unsure of the destination. It's funny because I have kind of an ending in mind, but I'm still trying to figure out how to get there

**MangasFan:** sorry this has taken a few more days than I expected, we actually had parents' weekend this past weekend and I got absolutely nothing done.

**Wraith:** thanks I'm really glad you like it :D

**Jade:** :D! your comment made me think of the song 'Wonderful' from Wicked, which is completly unrelated but I thought it was funny and had to share.


	8. Enter Gremlin

8

* * *

so i wrote this on the train this weekend. happily, i got a seat to myself, spread out my stuff and got to typing, any especial weirdness i blame on six hours spent in the same seat with no internet access and no dinner, lol

* * *

There was a moment of wondering what was going on before she heard it again. The distant trill: "_Mommy!_ Mom!" She was out of bed in an instant even though it was not her child crying. Sisters react too when they hear their little siblings calling out. She was in the hallway in a second, navigating easily since her eyes were adjusted to the dark. "MOM!" 

"Shhh," she said as she entered her sister's bedroom. "She's still asleep, it's Gwen. What's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare, monsters were chasing me." The little girl was sitting up at the top of her bed, the sheets pulled up to her chin.

"There's nothing to worry about, monsters aren't real, munchkin." Gwen sat down on the bed and ruffled Bella's hair. 'Except, you could say, for the one I brought into the house, and a couple of his buddies.'

"I know, but I can't help having a bad dream."

"It's okay, I'll stay here until you fall back asleep."

The little girl nodded and lay down again as her sister pulled up the sheets and tucked her back in. She sat there on the bed as the girl turned over and closed her eyes. 'I just told her there are no such things as monsters, the same thing I always tell her, but now I know it's not true.' She sat pondering for a few moments in the darkness, vaguely listening for her sister's breathing to shift to a quieter and shallower pattern. At last the change occurred and Gwen shook herself from her reprieve and slowly slid off the bed.

She slipped from the room, making sure to tread gently across the floor. As she stepped out of the room she saw a dark form to her right and froze, taking in a deep breath. The figure moved forward suddenly, faster than she could react to. A hand clamped over her mouth while a strong arm pinned her arms to her sides and pulled her away from the doorway. Her mind was blank with fear. All she knew was that someone had grabbed her, in the hallway of her own house and with her recent thoughts she was terrified.

"Don't scream." It was merely a tickle on her ear, a whisper so low as to mask the identity of the speaker. It did little to alleviate her fear. "I didn't mean to frighten you." There was a pause in which she stood perfectly still, every muscle tensed and her heart pounding furiously. "Gwen, breathe." She took a deep breath as she realized it was Kurama and not some home invader that had caught her in the hallway. "Can I trust you not to scream?" he whispered in her ear.

She nodded as well as she could and the hand slowly lifted from her mouth. It came to rest on her shoulder, and she took another deep breath. From the arm he still had thrown around her middle he could feel the rapid pulsing of her heart, still reacting to the rush of adrenaline in her system. He let out the breath he had been holding and relaxed his hold slightly. 'Well that was some way of making an impression on her,' he thought dryly. Her head clunked back against his shoulder and her body relaxed against him.

"You fucking scared me half to death," she hissed and elbowed him in the stomach.

"Gomen. I, er." He paused and took a deep breath, how to explain it? 'Yes I was just eavesdropping on you,' would go over very nicely with his most recent actions. He would be lucky if she didn't throw him out right then and there. "I heard your sister cry out," he whispered, still afraid of waking her parents. "I got up to see what was the matter but you had beaten me there. You came out without making much noise and I didn't have the chance to move away. I did not want you to yell and wake your parents."

"Makes sense," she murmured.

There was a snort from her parents' room and both froze. Kurama grabbed her arm and pulled her backwards towards his room as one of her parents turned over heavily in their sleep. He pulled her into the room and shut the door silently, lifting up on the handle as he swung the door closed. Gwen watched him and noted the way in which he moved the door, listening for even the beginnings of a squeak as he closed it and stepping carefully on the floor, shifting his weight delicately as he walked.

"You're a sneaky bastard, aren't you?"

He jumped as he heard her comment. It sounded strangely loud in the quiet house, even though she had said it barely above a whisper. "Whatever do you mean?" he asked. He wasn't sure exactly what she was referring to, or if it was just a general statement and his nature was a cautious one when dealing with unknowns.

"You're obviously used to sneaking around when you shouldn't be, skulking around at night and slipping out of the house."

"I don't do it that much, and now that I have an apartment I don't have to sneak out."

"But it's obviously something you got very good at when you did do it. I can tell, I'm the night owl in the house and I have to be quiet or I get yelled at for waking people up at 2AM."

She walked away from him, treading softly across the carpet to the window. With a little tweak she parted the curtains and looked down at the darkened street. She pulled the fabric back into place and looked back at him. Such a strange little human, he could hardly understand her. He was still trying to figure out why she had taken him in and, more importantly, now that she knew what was going on, why she was going to continue taking care of him.

"Are you sleeping in your clothes? They're going to be all wrinkled, and there's no way that's comfortable."

"Don't worry. I'm fine, I assure you. I've been in far worse situations than having to sleep in a pair of jeans."

"Alright, but tomorrow we're definitely going to Target."

"As you wish," he smiled at her as she walked past him towards the door.

She stopped, a repressed laugh making a choking sound in her throat as her eyes pinched shut. "Oh God, it's a good thing I know you don't know _the Princes Bride_." 'Or I'd know you were messing with me,' she thought but didn't say out loud. "But you just make sure you go to bed and get enough rest because tomorrow's Friday, Saturday's move-in and then the craziness begins."

He watched her go with a small smile before following her advice and going back to sleep.

* * *

He woke up late again, but not quite as late as the day before, and immediately sat up and looked around. It hadn't been a slow and gentle return to consciousness as one normally has on a lazy weekend or a glorious day off. No, something had definitely caused this sudden change in state. It took a second before he realized it was the sound of barking. He slipped out of bed and into the hallway. The house was quiet except for the plaintive yips and warm yellow light filtered into the hall way from the windows of the master bedroom. The barking was coming from downstairs, so he headed that way. 

As he reached the family room he realized that the sound must be coming from somewhere in there and looked around. In the corner, half-obscured by the TV cabinet was a very small kennel, and inside it was a very small dog. The creature stopped barking as he spotted Kurama. Then a growl, so high-pitched it was comical, issued from the fluffy creature's throat.

"Mm, and why are you growling at me?" Kurama asked the dog as he approached. "A better question would be why haven't I seen you up until now? Though I did smell you when I first came in." The dog seemed to have changed his mind once more and was wagging his tail, his head cocked to the side. Kurama bent down to open the kennel door and was immediately attacked.

The small creature burst forth with far more force than he could have imagined and threw itself in the air repeatedly while banging against his legs and emitting increasingly high-pitched yips. The demon took several steps back but the dog remained undeterred and began running in circles around him as it threw itself periodically in the air. Kurama was a plant person, not a dog person, and was unsure how to react, but he really would have preferred if it would be quiet long enough for him to think. He grabbed it out of midair and held onto it firmly as it struggled to lick his face.

"You were barking earlier, probably because you need to relieve yourself." He looked towards the back door, but there didn't seem to be any fence outside. Glancing around the room for some hint as to what he was supposed to do, he saw a leash sitting on top of the cage.

Walking a hyper-active dog now topped Kurama's list of 'things never to do again.' It was only after they had gone outside that he saw an area along the side of the house was actually fenced in, and opened off a side door. By that point he couldn't get the creature, for he was sure it wasn't actually a dog but some kind of new demon, near the fence. Instead it resolutely pulled him off towards the trees and lifted its leg by each one at least twice, even though it only peed the first two times. That was an experience he was not keen to repeat.

He went back inside and let the dog loose, seeing no way that he was going to get it back into its kennel. There was still no sign of a living human about the house. 'Perhaps she went out,' he thought as he looked into the front rooms and found no sign that anyone had been there for the past several hours. He wandered back upstairs with the dog following and looked around the bedrooms up there. The silence would have been eerie except for the presence of the dog, who's tail was still wagging happily. She hadn't gone into the master bedroom for her bath and she wasn't in her sister's room. Then he turned with a smile towards her room, the door was still closed and it seemed that she must still have been in bed.He opened the door and saw a large lump on the bed with one leg protruding gracelessly from the covers and hanging down over the edge. He stuck out a foot quickly and blocked the dog from rushing past him into the room. Somehow, he thought, that would not be a good idea. He quietly closed the door and went back downstairs.

* * *

With a wide yawn Gwen rolled over and rubbed her eyes. Light was filtering through the blinds and the whole room was glowing with the late morning sunlight. 'Well I guess it's time I got up,' she thought as she sat up and scratched her head. She shuffled through the boxes littering her floor and pulled open the door while letting out another yawn. As soon as she was done she realized she smelled something good and hurried forward, her stomach rumbling in response to her nose. She came tripping down the stairs, expecting to see that her mother had stayed home for the day or something of the sort when she stopped dead. There was a red-haired boy in the kitchen, wearing her mother's apron and leaning over a cookbook. His brow was furrowed as he poured over the page, leaning on the counter with one arm, a skillet dangling from his other hand. 

"You're not making a mess are you?" she asked tentatively and he jumped, almost dropping the pan.

"Gwen! You're awake!"

"Yeah, and you're cooking," she said as she walked through the family room, hurriedly trying to pull her hair into less of an unruly mess.

"I was attempting to fix breakfast. I didn't anticipate how difficult it would be with an English cookbook and an unfamiliar kitchen, but I have had some success."

"And what were you making?" she asked, repressing a giggle as she took in the apron up close.

"Omelets. What do you find so amusing?"

"Nothing! I just think it's cute. Look at you," she exclaimed, standing on tiptoe to brush off his nose. "How did you get flour on your nose if you're making omelets?"

He flushed slightly and moved away. She stood there watching him as he set the skillet down and picked up an oven mitt. "I also attempted to make muffins, but I can make no promises about how they turned out." He pulled open the oven and reached in, a moment later withdrawing a steaming muffin pan.

"Oh those look good!" she exclaimed. She went to a cabinet and pulled out a wire rack as Kurama set the pan down. In spite of the fact that they were steaming hot she pulled the muffins out and stuck them on the rack to cool, cursing at each one while the demon chuckled and went back to reading the cookbook.

"After breakfast, and I get dressed we're gonna go to the store." Gwen was sitting at the kitchen table, tossing a muffin from hand to hand fast enough that it wouldn't seriously burn her fingers.

"You could just set it down and let it cool," the boy remarked as he tried folding over the omelet he was cooking.

"Nah, I'm not that patient. I'm gonna take a bite of it in a minute and burn my tongue like I always do. You doing okay over there?"

"I think I have the hang of it now."

"Good because we can't feed the dog anymore 'practice omelets.'"

"You're the one who said they weren't fit for human consumption. Why haven't I seen Gremlin before?"

"He was locked up when you came in and I put him outside before I woke you up. I didn't want you to have to deal with his hyper craziness. Mom let him back in after we went upstairs."

Kurama nodded and slid the mass of eggs and other things onto a plate. He walked around the breakfast bar and handed it to her. "I hope it turned out okay."

"Smells good. I'm sure it's perfect!" she replied as she took the plate, but he couldn't help catching the suspicious look she gave it as she stabbed her fork into the surface.

"Did you talk to your mother about allowing to me to ride to your school with you?"

"Yeah, I actually dragged myself out of bed birght and early to ask. Then I promptly passed out again." Catcinghis questioning look she added: "She said it's cool."

* * *

After they ate Gwen ran upstairs to get dressed. Kurama was left to find a way to get her dog to go into his kennel. Apparently he hadn't learned to obey any of the commands Kurama tried, and merely stood staring at the boy, his tail wagging in hope of more eggs.

"Grem, get yer butt in your house." Kurama looked up from the dog to see the girl come flying down the last three stairs. The dog turned away from him immediately and headed for his kennel. She landed at the bottom, had to grab the railing to keep from falling over and gave him an embarrassed grin.

"How did you do that?"

"The kennel is his 'house,' if you tell him to go to it and mean it he goes. Ah you're giving me a weird look, can you tell I'm not wearing makeup?" Her hand shot to her face and rubbed across her lips. "Guys don't normally notice makeup or not so I don't usually bother. Or is it because I jumped down the stairs?"

"Oh no, I had no idea," he said, though he had noticed the lack of heavy eyeliner or powder. "I was just surprised that you dressed up."

"Fft." She blew air over her bottom lip and waved a hand, not making eye contact. "A skirt isn't dressing up when it's warm out, it's fashionable right now. Come on, let's go."

She paused to lock the dog's kennel before swinging her purse on her arm as she walked towards the front door. Kurama followed behind her while pulling his jacket close. Even though it was hot and humid out he couldn't take it off because of the large rips in his shirt and the wide swath of bandages beneath. As they walked out of the house and down the stairs his eye was caught by her skirt, and the way it swished back and forth with each step she took. He wondered how intentional her choice had been before quickly shaking his head. It was wrong to question his host's motives, especially when she had shown hardly any sign of rabid fan reactions to his presence. But, he promised himself, this was one human girl he would not fall for, he had learned better. There would be no repeat of his middle school years.

* * *

**Celedeen Tachibana**: so glad you figured out a way to get past your plot hole! i hate getting stuck because i then come up with ridiculous ways to get moving again, lol 

**Lady-Crymsyn**: thanks as always!

**Chibified Doom**: yeah, my room is always a disaster area when i pack. it scares my family


	9. Who's Your Friend?

9

* * *

So i put off studying for a chem midterm to write this, oh well hahahahaha, it's mostly stuff i remember from high school but taught much less effectively here, probably because it's 'easy chem' of course it means i'm also putting off studying for my lab test, which is under a different proff and promises to be the hard test T.T Anyways, hope you like the chapter and reviews are appreciated!

* * *

A dark, rather nondescript sedan sat down at the curb and Gwen took off across the grass towards it, calling back to Kurama to make sure to close the door. With two clicks of a button the car doors unlocked and the girl pulled open the driver's door, tossing her purse across to the passenger's seat, then she looked up at him with an embarrassed smile. 

"Whoops, not used to having someone sitting there. Just toss it in the back." She dropped into her seat and jammed the key into the ignition as she dragged her legs into the car.

Kurama eased himself into his seat, carefully moving the purse as he watched his hostess. Her rather careless movements were making him somewhat nervous. He buckled his seatbelt quickly as she revved the engine and shifted into gear. "Ready?" she asked with a smile that made him question the sanity of getting in the car in the first place. If he had been catholic he would have crossed himself.

The car shot away from the curb and did a rapid u-turn, but after that the driving was calm. It seemed Gwen enjoyed frightening her passengers, that is when she was not busy cursing at people who cut her off. They arrived safely in the shopping center dominated by the building marked by red and white concentric circles.

"Okay, so you go find, um, stuff, to wear and then I guess I'll meet you back at the front," she said as they walked into the building and she grabbed a shopping cart.

"That might prove difficult, especially as I do not have a watch."

"Ah, and I don't want you getting stolen, but then you probably don't want me coming with you." She continued walking towards a large display of purses, leaning forward on the cart's handle. Kurama followed after her. It was a large building filled with milling shoppers and if they were separated it would be frustrating to try and find her again.

"And what if you are the one stolen Gwen?"

She burst out laughing like this was some great joke and shook her head. "That's what my parents are always saying. Crazy, just crazy."

"I think it would be best if we stayed together, and," he paused trying to phrase the next part correctly, "it might be helpful if you would advise me as to what is fashionable here since I don't know."

She pursed her lips and looked back at him thoughtfully. "Wow, you're going to let me dress you, that's kinda scary. But there's a difference between fashionable and tasteful, and I'm not buying any pink fucking shorts because they are an offense to God and all that is natural."

"Pink shorts?"

"Yeah, and pink plaid with bright purple polos, it isn't pretty. Well let's go to the guys department then. We can get fun t-shirts! The guys always have cooler t-shirts than the girl's department but I haven't got the balls to walk over and grab one for myself."

She turned the cart abruptly and he hurried after her as they set off towards the other side of the aisle. Kurama found himself at a bit of a loss, the dress clothes looked the same as the ones he was used to, but almost all the casual clothing was completely different. The jeans were baggy and loose, the shorts all came down to the knees and half of them had bright plaid patterns and there was a whole section of polos. Gwen kept up a running commentary as she sorted through clothes and held things up, talking about color, cut, size and price. He didn't know American sizes so he just shrugged and watched as she threw three of everything into the cart.

"Why don't you go be useful and get some underwear or something," she muttered, gesturing with one arm to an area behind him.

"Go where?" he asked, glancing around.

"Over there," she waved a bit more while pointedly not looking at the area.

"And get what?" He smiled innocently as she glowered at him.

"You do know I can just leave you here, right?"

"I was only joking with you," he said, holding up his hands in defeat. She continued to glower as he walked away. He wandered back over a few minutes later.

"Gwen? I believe I need your assistance."

"Yeah?" she asked, looking up from the rack she was rooting through. He held up two packages and she started.

"I'm not sure about these sizes."

"Ah! I don't know anything about that!" She threw up her hands and looked away.

"Well I was thinking you could take a look-"

"No, no-no, can't help you there."

"But-"

"Why don't you go try on some pairs of pants and then you'll have a better idea." He let her push him into the fitting room and hand him a mound of clothes with the instructions "If it fits come out here and let me make sure it matches."

* * *

Somehow they managed to get out of there in under three hours with a decent haul and Gwen's bank only minimally broken. 

"To celebrate let's go out for lunch!" Gwen called as they threw the bags into the back seat of the car. "Where do you want to go?"

Kurama looked at her with a thoughtful expression as they got into their seats. "I really wouldn't know. I have no experience with your American restaurants."

"Uh, well I'll pick somewhere good then and just hope you like it."

The ended up at a little table in a sandwich and subs shop. Gwen had ordered cheese steaks and was trying to convince Kurama that it was one of humanity's best inventions.

"It's not bad."

"Not bad? My God have you got rocks for taste buds? I don't know what I'm going to do with you, you're hopeless!" she cried dramatically.

"I would not object to having another in future," he offered.

She sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe you, definitely not normal."

"You wouldn't be the first to say such a thing," he laughed gently as she took a bite of her own food. She frowned as best she could with her mouth full and looked off across the restaurant.

She was trying very hard to eat normally but found it difficult to take bites of food with him sitting across from her, looking at her. 'I will Not stare at him,' she told herself as her eyes drifted over the other people in the restaurant. 'I have no idea how I'm going to pull this off. Shelly's going to kill me, if not tomorrow then very soon.'

"Gwen, is everything alright?"

"Hm?" She swallowed and looked back at him. "I was just worry about my roommate killing me in my sleep."

"You think she will not like our arrangement?"

'Our _arrangement_. That sounds wrong.' She stopped herself from snorting. "She sure as Hell is going to be uncomfortable, and if you're with us for a long time she's going to get pissed."

"I think you should tell me a bit about your friends so I know what to be prepared for."

"Yeah, well my roommate is Shelly, she's really nice, a bit prudish at times, and has a serious boyfriend, they're almost to a year. She's always running around, which is probably good for us. Then there are four main girls you need to be ready for."

She smirked quite evilly and laughed at some memory. He thought these must be the friends she had once threatened to turn him over to if he misbehaved. Gwen gave him a rundown of the people she spent the most time with at school, those who were in her larger circle of friends and random people she knew. When they left the restaurant she was still talking, relating anecdotes about the heights on insanity bored college students could reach. She finished describing a late-night romp through the academic buildings as they pulled out of the parking lot and began heading back towards the house.

"So what about you? Any very crazy stories since you headed off to college?" She glanced at him expectantly but had to return her attention to the road and missed his frown. There was a pause in which she assumed he was thinking before he started talking.

"Well there was this one time when Yusuke and Keiko stopped by to wish me a happy birthday. I was more than a little surprised because I hadn't seen either of them in quite a while and Kuwabara had informed me that they were fighting again. It was really quite entertaining-"

A sudden beeping cut him off and he quickly reached into his coat pocket. He withdrew the beeping communicator and flipped it open. "_Kurama_," was the one word she caught, the rest was a spatter of some strange language she assumed to be Japanese. Kurama responded in the same vein and Gwen found herself listening in as if she could figure out what was going on. Oddly enough, it sounded to her like the demon was having an argument with whoever was on the other end.

"_Gwen_," he said at length and she glanced over, but he wasn't talking to her. Then he looked at her, obviously unhappy. "Gwen, they're asking for your information. Botan says it's necessary for figuring out where I am and for any arrangements they make with your world. I didn't want to get you involved in this mess and I'll understand if you don't want me to tell them about you."

"Oh," she said, changing lanes suddenly. "No, it's okay, they need it to get you home. I mean it's not like Spirit World will want anything more to do with me. I haven't got any kind of powers or anything."

Kurama made a noncommittal noise and turned back to his communicator. "_Finnegan Gwen_," he reported. Gwen found it eerie to listen to him reciting her age, home address and college address, to some unseen official. It was also slightly unnerving that he remembered everything, including her zip code, which she had never told him. 'He must have looked at the mail,' she thought darkly as she pulled up to the curb in front of her house. As she turned off the car it sounded like Kurama was giving a strong negative and she could hear a pleading whine from the communicator. The boy abruptly snapped his communicator closed and got out of the car.

"Is everything alright?" Gwen asked as she got out as well.

He turned to her abruptly and she was taken aback by the intensity of his expression. "Gwen, I will not let them know any more about you than I have to. You are in danger because of me and I will do everything in my power to keep this information from spreading. I have already made Botan swear not share what I told her with anyone except Koenma, not even Yusuke and Kuwabara."

She smiled and let out a breath. "Kurama, the only monsters here are the human kind. You don't have to worry that I'm going to be attacked because of you, unless you're worried some girls are going to want me out of the way." She missed his exasperated expression as she grabbed the bags from the back seat and headed for the door.

* * *

Her parents came home at about the same time as the day before and her little sister headed straight for Kurama as Gwen was busy greeting her mother. It only took a moment however, for her to forcefully remove the girl and send her off with some kind of vague threats. After dinner Mrs. Finnegan bundled Bella upstairs for a bath and bedtime. Mr. Finnegan settled onto the couch to watch TV and Gwen made her way upstairs. Kurama was about to follow her when her father caught his attention. 

"You seem like a nice enough boy, but I doubt there will ever be anyone nice enough for my little girl." Kurama didn't quite know how to respond as Mr. Finnegan's stern countenance made plain that he was being very serious. "If you break my little Gwen's heart you'll be sorry."

"Sir, I can assure you that is the last thing I would ever want to do."

"Just keep that in mind. Now get going before she yells at me for threatening you."

Kurama nodded and hurried up the stairs just as Gwen was looking around for him. "Oh there you are. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." He almost added 'why do you ask?' but realized that would be ridiculous.

"Are you sure? We had a long day. Maybe you should go to bed." She frowned and looked confused for a moment. "Do you need your bandages changed again? I've just remembered them, God I'm stupid."

He chuckled and placed a hand on her back. "Gwen, don't insult yourself. I might need help with my arm, if you would be so kind."

"Of course," she replied, letting him steer her into the guest room.

She half-closed the door, it blocked them from casual view without looking suspicious. 'She's rather sneaky herself,' Kurama thought as he sat down on the bed and she retrieved the bandaged from his suitcase. She was lending him one of hers and they had packed it with his new clothes and a few other necessities earlier, including extra bandages. She sat down in front of him and began unwinding the old bandage. By this point Kurama probably could have accomplished this task himself but it was far easier letting the human do it for him.

"Wow, you really do heal fast," she remarked as she began winding on the new strip of gauze. "And it doesn't look like there'll be much of a scar. Is your stomach doing as well?"

He came out of his reprieve at her voice. He had been deep in thought, his unfocused eyes fixed on the patterned fabric of her fanned out skirt. "Almost. Thank you very much Gwen. I believe I will take your advice and retire early."

She smiled and patted his head. "Good boy. Next we'll work on house training you."

He frowned at her as she hopped off the bed and traipsed to the door. "And don't sleep in your clothes tonight, you have pj's for a reason!" she ordered as she stepped out of the room and pulled the door closed behind her. The next day would bring the big move.

* * *

Gwen's mother was up early. Apparently when it came to getting places she preferred to get on the road early. By the time either woman thought of waking Kurama the car was packed, they were both dressed and had already eaten breakfast. The red-head came downstairs to find that Gwen and her mother were trying to think of anything Gwen might have forgotten. 

"You should have woken me," Kurama said as he sunk into a chair at the kitchen table.

"Well apparently we did, you _are_ up," Gwen replied as she slid him a mug of tea.

"We weren't ready to go, so we thought we'd let you sleep in," her mother added.

"Yeah, but you weren't going to let me sleep in, thanks Mom."

"Hush dear."

It was a bright and hot August day when the three set out a little later. Thankfully the car had a strong AC system, but that didn't stop the sun from beating in through the windows. After a little under two hours in the packed car with the radio blaring between spates of directions they arrived at the leafy campus. It looked green and welcoming, until they stepped out of the car and the full blast of humid heat overwhelmed them. The parking lot around them was bustling with people unloading their cars, rushing back and forth to the tall buildings with bulky bags and oversized boxes, sweating profusely in the heat.

"Woo I'm home!" Gwen called as a man went rushing by with a rolled up carpet. This earned her a smack upside her head from her mother.

"Well let's get to work, everybody grab something and we'll follow Gwen in." Mrs. Finnegan picked up a storage tub while her daughter swung her backpack onto her back and dragged her suitcase from the back of the car. Kurama lifted it from her hands and replaced it with his lighter bag.

"Don't hurt yourself!" she exclaimed.

"The same to you Gwen, you will strain your back. Now please lead the way."

Gwen pursed her lips but complied. They pushed past the stream of people leaving the red-brick structure through the propped door and fought their way up the stairs to the second floor. Gwen led the way down a hall, reading off the numbers on the doors until she reached one at the far end. The door was open and her roommates' belongings were scattered over half the room and piled onto one of the bunked beds but the girl was nowhere in sight. Gwen shrugged and dropped her things on the unclaimed desk. They all filed out of the room again and were walking back towards the stairs when Gwen let out a delighted squeal and sprinted forward. She embraced a slightly taller girl with dark blonde hair who had been walking towards them. The girl was rather pretty with pale blue eyes and was wearing a long skirt. In spite of the heat she looked unruffled and poised.

"Gwen! I didn't expect you for another hour!"

"Shelly! I'm so happy to see you. How are you doing?"

"Great." Shelly's eyes looked past her roommate to take in Mrs. Finnegan and Kurama. Her expression took on a slightly knowing look as her eyes returned to her friend. "So, who's your friend?"

* * *

Love to my lovely reviewers! I was actually good about hitting the 'reply' button this time 

** Cuteness**: thanks :D, but if you do have critical feedback I'd be happy to hear it too


	10. Falling

10

* * *

So this isn't quite my campus, these aren't quite my friends, and it's not my dorm, but everything's based more or less on my college experience so far. Sorry if the settings get a bit too descriptive, but I have to figure out where things are for myself and make sure we're all on the same page with the general layout of our darling '… College'.

* * *

"His name's Kurama, just go with it for right now," the girl whispered quickly and her friend shot her a skeptical look.

"Hello Shelly," Mrs. Finnegan said with a smile. "Still bringing things in?"

"No, actually I just finished and was going to start unpacking, but I can help you all unload the car first."

"Oh that would be great, we'll have everything up here in no time!"

Mrs. Finnegan led the way back outside followed by Kurama. Shelly grabbed her roommate's arm and slowed her walk to a stroll as they followed.

"So what's going on here?"

"Um, can you not ask any questions about him, just for right now, until my mom leaves. I'll explain Everything as soon as she's gone. It's kind of complicated, screw that, really complicated. I also have the hugest favor ever to ask you and I'm hoping you won't kill me."

"_Gwen_," Shelly said as the heat hit them again and someone carrying a refrigerator squeezed through the door after them. "You didn't kill anybody did you?"

"No."

"Ok, as long as I'm not covering for murder it can't be that bad, right?"

"Uh, right," Gwen said quickly, hoping her friend would still feel that way when she found out what the favor was.

They finished unloading the car and piling all of Gwen's bags and boxes into the room. The place looked something like a battle zone on the move with four people uncomfortably packed into the few open spaces.

"Well I guess I should be on my way," Kurama said as Shelly tried to find where her clothes had gotten to.

"I'll walk you out," Gwen squeaked. She shot a serious look at her roommate then smiled at her mom. "Be right back!" They walked out into the hall and out of earshot as quickly as possible. "Okay, so I have to get rid of my mom, talk to my roommate (which might involve begging and pleading), and get some of my stuff out of the way. So you're going to need to wait somewhere for a while. Ahh! Uh, where? Damnit." She started fidgeting and bouncing up and down on her toes as she fluttered her hands.

"What is the closest public building where someone could spend several hours without causing suspicion?"

"I guess it's out University Center, the bookstore is further away, and the coffee shops—"

"How do I get to the University Center?" he asked, trying to remain very sedate in an effort to get the girl to calm down.

"Go out the doors here, walk across the quad and towards the big row of academic buildings, off on the right is one that looks more modern, there's always people wandering in and out. On the second floor is the dinning hall, but right outside of that it a big lounge area with couches and TVs. I'll find you there as soon as I can."

He nodded and she watched with apprehension as he walked out through the door and across the grassy area between dorm buildings. A minute later she was upstairs again chatting with her mother and her friend. Her mom stayed a little longer, helping the girls to unpack and organize things. Then Gwen was saying a loving goodbye as Mrs. Finnegan prepared to drive back home. As soon as she came back from seeing her mom off, Shelly turned to her with an expectant look.

"Okay, explain."

* * *

The University Center was a bustling place with students walking in every direction and quite a few parents wandering around. The building was obviously much younger that most of the other structures he had seen so far, with wide windows and high skylights that let in the light. The air conditioning was on at full blast in the building, making it almost unpleasantly chilly by the boy's standards as he sat in one of the arm chairs and watched the people going by. There was a large TV off to his left and several of the other people sitting down were watching the news. He was sitting in a group of couches and arm chairs in the middle of a large, open space, with a curving staircase to his right. It went down to the lower floor where he had come in and where the student mailboxes were and continued up to the third floor, which was mainly an open gallery that looked down on where he was sitting and some rooms that opened off of it. Further to his left and behind him was the dinning hall and a steady flow of people went in the open doors that led to the food. There were doors in the wall across from him, between large pieces of student art, and he was attempting to guess what might lie behind them when he heard several girls walk up behind him and stop. 

"So where is this guy who Shelly says is so hot?"

"Guys, you're really getting overexcited, I'm sure you'll be disappointed when you see him, I mean everyone prefers the whole dark and mysterious look." That was definitely Gwen's voice. Kurama had to prevent himself from turning around to look at them since it sounded like they were right behind him.

"Just shut up and point him out!" a different girl laughed as she spoke.

"Yeah, right now I trust Shelly more than you, hoe. Who'd have thought you'd actually bring a guy back from summer vacation and then force your roommate to put up with him?!" said a third.

"I said I'm sorry a million times!" Gwen exclaimed almost frantically. It sounded like she was standing directly behind him, but facing the opposite direction.

"It's ok Gwen, calm down, I said your little 'friend' could stay didn't I?" That was Shelly's voice. "I'm surprised you can't find him, he's got that Bright red hair and it's so long."

"So he blends in with the girls?" came a cynical snicker from the third speaker. "Then you have nothing to worry about Shell. Personally I prefer my guys to be guys."

"Shut up Bev, he doesn't look like a girl. You know what, he probably saw you all coming and hid, I know I would."

"You mean he ditched you," the first one spoke again. "I'm hungry and starting to doubt Gwen's mysterious little foreign boyfriend exists. You guys are pretty twisted, making up a story like that."

"Damnit shut up Diana! I didn't make him up."

"Gwen, we're all hungry. How bout when you find him you bring him in to lunch," the second one said in an attempt to make peace.

"You know that's not her plan. After she finds him they're going to run back to her room to-muffgh."

"That's enough out of you!" Gwen yelled, and apparently had covered her friend Bev's mouth before she could finish. "You all go ahead, I'll catch up later."

He heard the girls moving off towards the dinning hall and glanced back.

"Oh my god," Gwen said, looking down at him and shaking her head. "They're crazy. Shelly said you could stay, I promised there wouldn't be any sex or anything like that and Bev offered to let you sleep over at her room whenever you drive Shelly crazy. You might be better off sleeping outside than in Bev's room, though."

"Gwen, I can't tell you how grateful I am."

"Don't think you're getting off completely easy. Shelly and I have furniture we need moved Mr. Big-Strong-Boy."

"I'd be happy to help," he said with some reservation.

"Good, you can bunk beds right?"

* * *

"Wow, you guys have been busy, and not in the way that Bev kept saying." 

Gwen and Kurama looked up from where they were sitting on the dorm room floor, holding oddly shaped pieced of metal.

"I told you it's nothing like that!" Gwen exclaimed, nearly dropping the screwdriver she was gesturing with. "Look we got the beds bunked, the dressers stacked and the futon's almost together!"

"And you got most of your stuff put away, wow. All we really have left to do is hang up our pictures, and I need to go shopping. Um, did we decide who's taking which bunk?"

"No, I said you could pick. I don't care either way," Gwen replied with a nervous adjustment to the base of the couch she was holding. She glanced up at her roommate, who was considering the bunked beds. She felt terrible about the position she had put her friend in and knew she would feel resentful and frustrated in a similar position. 'But I can't say she wouldn't do the same thing,' she thought as she slid the final bolt into place. 'Her boyfriend practically lived with her last year and she was probably planning on the same thing again this year.' That made her feel slightly better, along with the knowledge that Peter was arriving the very next day.

"I guess I'll take the top bunk. I think I'm the only person who likes it!"

"You're not the only one, I'm just afraid of falling out of bed. Ah, done!" She sat back and leaned her hands on the carpet with a relieved sigh.

"All it needs is the final part." Kurama picked up the futon pad and dragged it onto the couch. "There, a very respectable couch."

"It's the best futon in the world!" Gwen exclaimed, leaning forward to pat it fondly.

"And gives us way more seating," Shelly smiled. "Ok guys, now where do I put this poster?"

They spent the rest of the afternoon placing posters around the room, centering them over furniture and trying to get everything level. There was a debate over which one should go over the futon and both girls kept dragging Kurama into the argument though he refused to make any definite statements or side with either of them. In the end they had one poster over each side. And then Gwen pulled out a few more she wanted to put on the ceiling.

"It's going to fall on you while you're sitting at your desk and I'm going to laugh," Shelly said as Gwen was standing on her desk, jumping up push the poster against the surface just out of normal reach.

"Yeah, but then you'll help me put it back up!" At last they finished and Gwen glanced at the clock. "Oh no wonder I'm hungry, it's dinner time!"

"And where are you going?" Shelly asked as she watched her roommate grab her keys and her boy and head for the door.

"I dunno, I guess we'll grab some fast food or something. Kurama I still have to show you around campus!"

He was wondering how she planned to feed them both at this point. He hadn't heard back from Spirit World and was starting to worry that Koenma had forgotten. There was always the possibility that there was some new crisis that the young ruler had to handle and his latest spirit detective was nothing compared to Yusuke. That's why he was in this situation to begin with, the kid hadn't been able to keep up with all his assignments, a demon got lose that shouldn't have and the old detectives, the three of them who thought they were retired, had to come out to defeat it. He looked around the hall he was walking down as Gwen pushed open the door into the stairwell and held it for him. In fact, compared to the rest of his human life this was the most 'retired' he had ever been. He hadn't even so much as sensed a demon once since arriving.

Gwen was walking down the stairs before him, she glanced back to say something about a building he just _had_ to see. He saw her face and motion change at the same moment and reacted immediately as she tripped.

* * *

Gwen let out a squeak as she felt the familiar sensation of one foot sliding out from under her while there was nothing beneath the other. 'God hates me,' she thought as images of her tumbling down the stairs, brains and blood everywhere, flooded her mind. She couldn't steady herself and was falling forward towards the length of metal stairs and the surprised person coming up them. Then someone was crashing into her and all she could do was close her eyes as her mind went momentarily blank. She felt both her feet leave the ground, felt herself being spun around but she didn't hit the ground, didn't go tumbling head-first down the stairs. 

"Nice catch man," she heard an unfamiliar voice say and opened her eyes.

"Arigato," Kurama's voice replied from right above her. He had his right arm firmly around her waist, holding onto her tightly, while he had thrown out his left hand to catch the railing. He was hanging onto it with only one foot firmly on a stair, the other dangling out over emptiness. She could see the tension in his arm and thanked her lucky stars that he was so strong.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, oh my god," Gwen panted. "I can't believe I almost fell down the stairs again!"

"This is a frequent occurrence?" the demon demanded.

"Well not frequent, but it does happen. Normally I just slide down a few…" She trailed off, remembering a few of her nastier encounters with the uneven menace.

She heard the guy who had been coming up the stairs walk past them and in spite of her own racing heart and frightened panting she could feel that Kurama was breathing heavily too. 'I must have really scared him,' she thought. She rested her head against his shoulder as she tried to catch her breath.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, just a bit freaked out. I thought I was in for a concussion there."

"Well, everything turned out fine."

He let go of her and she stepped down to the next stair. Kurama let out a deep breath and let go of the railing. He rubbed his arm with a faint smile at Gwen before stepping down beside her and putting a hand on her back.

"Now you must be more careful of your footing Gwen. Watch where you are going."

"Yeah, I know," she said as a faint pink tinged her cheeks. "If something happens to me who'll feed you?" she laughed and skipped ahead of him down the stairs.


	11. Suggestive Statements

11 Suggestive Statements

* * *

I'm jumping a bit again. Is this format too episodic? Do you guys want me to fill in the gaps directly with narrative? If it's really bugging someone let me know! 

Also I'm putting up an old fma story, it only needs a bit of editing so if these are taking a while to come out and you're bored you can read that.

* * *

Gwen rolled over in bed and let out a disgruntled groan at the classical music that was blasting from her roommate's radio. "What time is it?" she asked as she saw Shelly come sliding down from the top bunk. 

"It's already eight! Peter should be here any time now!"

She ran to her dresser and started pulling out clothes. Just as she was reaching to pull off her shirt she jumped and looked around at the futon. Then she stopped and stared.

"Uh Gwen, your guy is gone. Um, right?" Gwen sat straight up in bed and looked over to see the empty futon. "He Did go to bed last night, I remember that. I wonder if he's an early riser then?"

Gwen shot out of her bed and towards the futon. The sheet had been neatly folded and placed at the end of the couch on top of the pillow and he had folded the futon back up. She felt the surface in disbelief. It was cold.

"He's gone," she muttered.

"I'm sure he's just up taking a walk," Shelly said as she went back to changing.

Gwen went to her own dresser and pulled out some clothes.

"Why don't you go back to bed? I mean, he's got to come back sometime, nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, but I'll feel bad sleeping in so late when I still have a bunch of stuff to do and everyone else is up," she said as she jumped into a pair of shorts and looked around for her shoes. She slipped into her flip-flops, grabbed her keys and purse and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "I'm just gonna run and check the lounge, then probably go to the bookstore."

"Don't forget to eat, Gwen!" Shelly called as her roommate rushed out of the room.

Gwen raced down the stairs, but not quite daring to take them two at a time after the incident the night before. What if he had left, gone back to his own world, without telling her? What if he had sensed something demonic or found some kind of monster in her world and was now fighting it? What if he was just ditching her? Gwen burst outside and realized she had no idea where to look for a plant-loving fox demon masquerading as human guy accidentally marooned in a foreign country. She decided she might as well retrace the route they had walked the night before.

She went to the University Center first, just to make sure that he hadn't gone back there. Then after finding a conspicuous absence of red-heads, she headed outside again. She walked among the academic buildings and past the other dorms. She poked her head into the library, the coffee shops weren't open yet and she was reluctant to start wandering through the woods when she thought he probably wouldn't have gone that far. 'He always could have left campus,' she thought dismally as she headed towards the bookstore. 'I'll never find him if he's done that.' Tired, hungry, and frustrated she wandered to the dinning hall, grabbed something to eat, and smuggled out an apple and bagel. She walked out of the dinning room and was just about to head back to her dorm when a bright spot in her peripheral vision caught her attention. There, standing quite innocently off to her left was the MIA demon. He had his hands in his pockets and was contemplating the posters on the wall.

"Kurama!" she exclaimed and he turned towards her with a smile.

"I expected you to be asleep a while longer," he said quite pleasantly as he began walking over. "But then I discovered that you were up and about and thought I'd meet you."

"How early did you get up?!" she demanded. "Shelly's alarm went off at eight and you were long gone."

"I'm afraid I got a call rather early. I must have left your room around seven."

"That explains why you're in your pajama pants. Any news?"

"Good news actually." 'He's going home,' she thought and felt her heart sinking. "I think you should check your bank account."

"What?"

"Your account," he repeated, taking her arm and leading her to the atm. "Check the balance."

Rather mystified she pulled out her card and did just that. As she picked up the receipt she blinked quickly, thinking it had been a mistake. Then she held it at arm's length and slowly moved it closer, then farther away again, just to make sure the numbers stayed the same.

"Koenma said he thought the amount would be adequate to cover my costs while I am with you."

"Sweet Zombie Jesus! We're gonna eat good! Let's go food shopping." She threw her arms around him in a quick hug then pranced off towards the doors. "Come on Kurama!" she called as she realized he was lagging. "I can't carry all the groceries by myself!"

* * *

Gwen dragged Kurama to the supermarket. She bought a lot of food. Then she made him carry most of it up to the dorm room. 'At least we didn't have to walk to the store,' he thought dryly as they were unloading the car. Gwen had somehow managed to find someone going to the grocery store just when she wanted to go. On the phone the girl had sounded reluctant but when they had showed up her face had brightened immediately and had gotten even brighter when Gwen had suggested he sit in the front passenger's seat and introduced him merely as 'my friend Kurama.' He was more than a little impressed that Gwen could be so sly, even if it annoyed him to be used to bait her female friends. 

"Oh I'm excited! I wanted to cook more anyway this year. School food sucks, well not at first normally, but as soon as the parents are gone-" she puffed out her cheeks, stuck out her tongue and gave a thumbs-down sign.

"Are you really going to be up to cooking every night?" he asked as he set the bags down on the floor. There was no open space on either of the desks.

"Oh definitely not. If I make a lot of food one night it'll last for a couple and still be better than what you get in a cafeteria. Next stop—bookstore!"

"Why do I feel that will be even more arduous?"

"Don't worry, I ordered most of my books over the summer so I only have a few I need to get. Hey, how's your arm doing?" His hand had gotten stuck in the series of plastic handles and she bent down to help him get free.

"Fine. So your roommate has a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, his name's Peter. He's a nice guy, kind that likes to talk though, so be careful about asking him any open ended questions."

"I see. And what is your boyfriend like?"

She nearly dropped the milk she was fitting into the refrigerator and let out a snort that turned into a weak chuckle. "No. I don't have a boyfriend." 'I thought That was obvious by now.' She paused and he was unsure whether she meant to say more. At last the milk slipped into its place and she turned and reached for the next object to be sorted. "I've never had a serious boyfriend."

"Why not?"

She took a breath like she was going to answer, but her expression turned into a frown. One eyebrow arched as she turned a caustic smirk in his direction. "And why should I tell you? I've only known you five days. My personal business is none of your business."

His eyes widened slightly but his face quickly resumed its ingenious smile. "Except for the fact that we're living together and so our business cannot be kept very personal," he said in an attempt to turn this devastating little statement of hers around.

"Then why did you shut me down when I asked about your life?" she said and quickly turned her back on him.

Frankly, he was shocked how quickly she had snapped at him. All the goofiness had gone out of her persona and she was back to the darkly cynical attitude he had first seen. He had thought that was a fluke brought on by the stress of the moment. But then his 'prying' had probably been stressful too, and this was her reaction. She had shut him down with just one sentence, throwing his own reticence back in his face. Obviously a human who wanted confessions in return for her own.

"Gwen." He stepped over to her and pulled her around by the arm.

"Hey, get off," she snapped, jerking on her arm and turning away from him.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," he said while still holding onto her arm.

"Back off."

"Back off?" he asked, giving her a confused look as he stepped closer and pulled her around again.

"I said Back Off. I've had less than seven hours of sleep most of this past week, I spent over an hour running around campus looking for your ass before I even got breakfast because you just went off without leaving a note, I've been harassed by my friends more in the past 24 hours than you probably have been in the past twenty years, and now you want me to somehow explain why boys don't like me! When I won't talk you get all up in my face and my space. I won't be intimidated, I won't put up with you trying to, and I refuse to be part of your dominance hierarchy!"

This time his surprise was hard to voercome and painted across his face. He was about to protest but he realized as he took a breath to speak that she was right. He was acting without thinking and unconsciously he did have the desire to assert his dominance. It was the natural demon thing to do, they were always testing each other to see who was superior. As Yoko he had failed before, she had refused to be frightened, and now the same urge had caused him to invade her space. But he wasn't trying to intimidate her he told himself. He had been trying to embarrass her with the contact, obviously she took it another way. He stepped back, his hands open in a gesture of passiveness as she glared.

"I don't need this right now," she muttered, going back to unpacking.

"I didn't mean to do that."

"Then why do it?!" she snapped with a venomous glare in his direction.

He closed his eyes and sat on the couch. After a moment of rubbing his eyes he looked at her again. "Gwen, if something ever happens and I become my demon form again, be cautious."

"What?!" she asked in disbelief.

"A lot can happen in a few minutes. I'm afraid I might hurt you."

"You mean you're offended because a human girl stood up to you, and this would bother you even more when you're 'the evil thieft'?"

"Something of the sort," he muttered. "I think I need to speak with Koenma. When I return I would be happy to assist you carry your books if you would still like the help." He got to his feet and quickly left the room, leaving the frustrated girl slamming groceries onto the shelves and into boxes.

_Koenma, you need to get me out of here._

* * *

"Oh, so I get to see the mysterious boy at last!" 

Kurama paused as he was walking back into the dorm room when he saw that there was a girl sitting on the couch. Gwen was at her desk and looked up at him with pursed lips, as if unsure how she wanted to respond to his return. The girl on the couch scooted down from her position leaning over the end with her legs curled behind her on the couch to a spot in the middle. She fixed a friendly and slightly suggestive smile on him and patted the spot next to her.

"I didn't mean to take up all the room, come sit down."

Kurama glanced at Gwen to see her expression had changed to one of amusement, and she turned away for a second as she 'coughed.'

"Yeah, sit down and stay awhile," she said as she patted her chest and pretended like she was still coughing. "Kurama this is Bev, Bev, this is Kurama."

"Nice to meet you," Kurama said, extending a hand as he sunk into the proffered seat.

"My pleasure," the girl said in a tone that indicated she could make any statement suggestive. "So what's your major Kurama?" She crossed her legs and fixed her attention on him.

"Biology."

"Really? That's mine to! Gwen why didn't you tell me?"

"Because now you're going to be bugging him to help you on your orgo, and orgo is a fate no one deserves."

"Hey, I get my orgo just fine, it's the biological ecosystems I could care less about," she exclaimed.

Kurama looked over the blonde girl next to him. She had a habit of bouncing when she talked, which combined with her low-cut shirt and full figure to make it an eye-catching move. She leaned forward to pick up a soda sitting on the crate they were using for a coffee table and he noticed the low-rise jeans. As she sat back she caught his eye and gave him this coy look that said 'oh really?' or 'I know what _you're_ thinking.' He smiled awkwardly and looked to Gwen for help.

The brunette was picking at her nails with vicious little movements that strongly resembled stabbing motions. 'What have I gotten myself into?' Kurama wondered as Bev took a long sip from the can and looked at him.

"So has Gwen taken you to see anything interesting yet? I bet she hasn't."

"Shut up Bev! There's been no time."

"She's a slacker," Bev whispered loudly, leaning towards him with a hand to the side of her mouth as her eyes rolled towards her friend. "Next weekend when she's sitting at her desk doing her homework you come over to my dorm, we won't just be working over there."

"Oh my god Bev shove it, you so spend more time doing homework than me."

"Yeah, but I don't do it Friday night!"

Gwen pouted and went to report her mistreatment across AIM to some far off friend from high school. Bev kept talking and Kurama found out that she was bubbly and vivacious along with being highly sexual. Within minutes she was telling him some story about high school mishaps, but he glanced at Gwen and saw her becoming more disconnected and displeased as her friend continued to talk. Bev was also very touchy. She had one hand on his arm and the other was smacking his knee rapidly as she tried to get him to promise to 'come out' with her and some other girls the next weekend.

"Maybe even Gwen will join us for once," she smirked.

The theme song of _Sex and the City_ blasted out of her purse and she jumped in surprise. She pulled out her phone and yelled "Score!My roommate's here!" as she flipped it open. Then into the phone she said "Hello Darling. Where are you? Outside?! Rachel, didn't I tell you to give me like five minutes warning?" She got to her feet and slipped into her shoes as she looked around for her purse. "I'm at Gwen's. Just wait until I get over there, you're going to die!" She jabbed Gwen playfully and smiled. "Buh-bye." She waved at Kurama and hurried from the room.

"So that was Bev, she's a character. You two seemed to get along well," Gwen said with what could be described as a malicious glint in her eyes.

"I must admit I feel violated." Kurama brushed at his knee absently

"Now we're even. And you _laughed_ when I said my friends were dangerous. She likes playing with guys. Making them uncomfortable makes her laugh and inflates her ego."

"She was very lively though," he said with a smile and was rewarded with a frown. "Are you jealous?" Gwen's face darkened and she turned away.

"Of course I am!" He started, surprised by such a blatantly honest answer. "I wish I could 'do' small talk, I wish I was as likeable, but I'm not." She began sorting through the papers on her desk

"Gwen, you have nothing to be jealous of. You're just as engaging when you want to be, and far less disturbing than your friend."

"Guys like her."

"I can imagine most males failing to realize that she is playing with them and interpreting her to be serious."

"Oh, she is serious, that's why I said you shouldn't ever sleep in her room. Now are you going to help me get my books?"

He smiled faintly and handed her her purse.


	12. Obscenely Attractive

12

* * *

Woo, a new chapter, between tests too, hahaha. Oh i'm so bad, i was supposed to be reading thirty pages, instead I did about ten and wrote this. Random note: I will be bringing el yoko back at some point, but I don't think I'll get the right set up for it for a while, le sigh, but these things cannot be rushed. Why else give a wanring unless such a situation will arise? muwahaha. I liked writing the character but I haven't seen enough cannon to be confident in my own version, so hopefully I'll at least have more background there by the time its time to bring him out again

* * *

The book store was cool and relatively dark after the blazing daylight outside. They wandered through the tall rows of shelves, at first just browsing the selection. Gwen wandered back and forth down the aisles, picking up random books and reading the back covers. Sometimes she would find very strange ones and call Kurama to read the summary as well. She would wait until he finished it or made some comment before letting her laughter loose and dancing down the aisle to find something else, leaving him to squeeze the volume back onto the shelf. 

Slowly, they made their way to the back where the textbooks were stocked. Gwen pulled a list from her purse and went off in pursuit of the few books she still had to track down. Kurama decided to look over the types of textbooks they had and the variety of classes offered. He went to the biology section first in search of botany books. After browsing through thick bricks filled with detailed diagrams he heard the patter of feet and looked up to see Gwen go dashing by the aisle. More curious than he would have admitted, he left his section and wandered after her. He passed the business majors all scattered among books on economics and corporate structure, past the stories of Greek gods and goddesses and illustrations of atoms. He found her in the history section digging through a pile of used books for one in decent shape. She looked up with the slightly impish grin of a child let loose in a toy store as she pried out a book.

"Hey, can you run down to the anthro section and grab 102's second book for me?"

"Of course," he replied, not exactly able to translate 'anthro' but he assumed it would be near the far wall since everything seemed to be arranged alphabetically.

By the time he found the book and returned she was gone. He turned around on the spot as if she had ducked behind him, but only found other students wandering past, looking disoriented and flustered. He left the aisle and continued on down the alphabet, hoping to find his hostess. He looked down every aisle, every row, looked around corners, and found himself at the end of the textbook section without having found Gwen. He turned around on the spot, eyes scanning over shelves, books, aisles and people, all whirling around him, but no sight of the girl. He stopped and took a deep breath.

'I must be logical, she must be here somewhere. She would not have left without me. I will just look through the aisles again.'

"There you are!" Kurama jumped and looked behind him to see the girl standing there shaking her head. She was holding a small stack of books and tapping her foot. "I was worried you'd run off again. Ready to go?"

"Yes, I was actually just looking for you, but you weren't where I'd left you."

"Well you can't expect me to stay still. Funny that _you_ had trouble finding me though!" She laughed and led the way to the cash register with him following after.

* * *

The books Gwen needed weren't heavy, and there weren't very many of them, but she refused to let Kurama help her carry them. Whenever he tried to reach for them she would skip out of the way while waving the bags and laughing. She kept making little teasing comments as well about him being in a delicate condition and unfit for heavy lifting. It sounded too much like she was implying pregnancy, instead of injuries, for his tastes 

"Gwen! I carried your groceries up to the second floor didn't I?" She stuck her tongue out and nearly tripped over the uneven path. He jumped forward and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her off her feet.

"AHH! Kurama, put me down!" she yelled as she felt her feet hanging in the air.

"Not until you retract your previous statements."

"I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request," she snapped back.

"Fine," he said evenly, sweeping a hand under her legs and hoisting her into his arms.

"Alright! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it! Just put me down before you drop me!"

He lowered her back to the ground and she took a few deep breaths as he chuckled. She began to emit a low growl and he looked over in some concern to find her narrowed eyes fixed on him as her hand tightened on the bag of books she was holding. She swung suddenly and he jumped out of the way.

"Come back here so I can hit you!" Gwen yelled, running after him.

"Gwen! Calm down!" He jumped a bit farther ahead as she swung again.

"I refuse to calm down!" she shouted as she continued running, though there was no way she could catch the demon if he did not want to be caught. They ran all the way back to her dorm. Gwen came to a stop, panting and sweating and glared at her unruffled companion.

"Je te deteste."

"Excuse me?"

"Argh."

She shoved the bag of school books at him and reached for her keys. He watched in some amusement as she opened the door and stomped into the hallway. She let out a groan as she saw the stairs and began dragging herself up them.

"You shouldn't have run all that way," he said pleasantly as he followed her up the stairs.

"Arrr."

They finished the walk upstairs and down the hall to Gwen's room. She threw open the door and trudged in, dropping her purse on the desk and collapsing headlong on her bed. Kurama set down the bag he was carrying and gently closed the door. He sat down on the futon and looked over and the girl's unmoving body.

"Gwen, are you alright?"

"Nnrgh. Need sleep."

"Well you were up early, but it is only dinner time."

"Ramen tonight," she muttered, rolling over and throwing her arm out. "_Ow_," she whined as it hit the cinderblock wall. "Ok, shower first, then I'll cook something, then I'll go to bed. That sounds good." She pushed herself to a sitting position and dragged her hair from her face. "Ok, out you get, I'm changing."

"What?" he asked, a slight pink tinge coming to his features.

"I'm not comfortable being naked in the same room with a strange boy!"

"Why don't you change in the bathroom?" he asked as he watched her walk to her closet and drag out a towel and her shower caddy.

"Because then I have to carry my clothes back here when I'm all wet. Come on, get out. Go make friends in the lounge or something."

He rolled his eyes, but got up and left the room, pulling the door shut behind him. Gwen double checked to make sure the door was closed before tossing off her clothes and pulling the towel tightly around her body. She slipped into her shower shoes and picked up her shower caddy as she headed for the bathroom. Hall bathrooms were an interesting experience, but they made you more comfortable with others, or at least most people got to the point of being too lazy to care.

* * *

There was a soft rap on the door and Gwen looked up from drying her hair. 

"C'm'in!"

The door opened slowly and Kurama poked his head around. "May I come back in now?"

"Yes you can come in," Gwen laughed. "I'm gonna be lazy on food tonight and just make macaroni and cheese I think. Is that okay?"

"That's fine, I will be happy to try it," he said as he went to his drawer in the dresser. They had decided he couldn't exactly live out of a suitcase so his clothes were hanging in Gwen's closet, or in the bottom drawer of her dresser.

"You haven't had it before? Then I definitely have to make it! So, what are you doing?" She glanced around to seem him taking a towel out of the closet.

"I was going to follow your example and take a shower."

"And leave me to do all the cooking, I see how it is," she teased as she took out a pot and began tossing things into it. "Well go off and get clean you stinky boy!"

"I do not smell _stinky_," he replied in an offended tone.

"I was joking, _sheesh_," she rolled her eyes and shook her head before slipping into her flip-flops and shuffling off down the hall.

Kurama let out a huff and went to shower. His little human was indeed quite some character. She teased and taunted him, intentionally provoking him in ways even Yusuke had avoided when he was joking. She was also ready to stand up to him and fight him over anything and everything in spite of his obviously superior strength. It was amusing when it was not disconcerting. Her friends were more even disconcerting, and unexpectedly raunchy. He shuddered to think what they would be like while intoxicated and felt more than a little grateful that Gwen had said she refrained from such behavior. All in all he was sure he would survive easily, most probably have a very comfortable time here, but that was what he was afraid of.

Gwen was trying to boil water in the kitchen and flipping through one of her next text books. 'I can't get too attached,' she thought as she viciously turned a page. 'Now I'm cooking for him, we'll be eating together all the time. And he'll probably follow me to class, my lectures at least. Jeeze. If I develop a dislike of him I'll never be able to deal with him, but there's no way I can not like him. And if we get to be friends…well how much longer is he going to be here, a week, maybe two at tops? I can deal with that, there's no way you can form a tight bond in two weeks, _except at college…_ Damnit brain shut up!' She noticed the water was boiling at last and jumped up from her seat on the counter to add the macaroni. "Argh, boys." 'Well, if I find a boyfriend, that'd be a distraction from the hot, smart, cutely awkward guy living in my room. Riight.'

She finished her cooking and went back to the room balancing the pot and other ingredients in her arms. "Oh my god, why are you not dressed?! Put some pants on!" she exclaimed, coming in and kicking the door closed. Kurama jumped where he was standing at the dresser and flushed as he looked back at her.

"I was trying to find gauze or some other bandages," he replied defensively but avoided turning completely to face her. "My wounds have reopened to a degree."

"Well obviously!" she replied as she swept papers to the side of her desk, making room for the things in her arms. "That's what happens when scabs get wet. Here I'll find the gauze, but don't just stand there in a towel!" She pulled out a storage tub from under her bed and began sorting through it.

"I must admit I am surprised by the level of discomfort you show around me," he said slowly.

Her head jerked around, her face flushed as a deep blush set in and her eyes showed concern, worry that she had hurt his feelings. 'It's my own mind I'm not comfortable with right now,' she thought as her eyes flicked over his chest. She mentally slapped herself several times and forced herself back to looking through the bin. "It's not, it'sjust, just I'm, not used to boys. It takes some getting used to." 'Especially when they're hot and shirtless.' She physically slapped a hand to her face. 'Damn, can you say nympho?'

"Gwen," he said pleasantly as she pulled the roll of bandages from the tub and hit herself with them. "I'm afraid I do not understand you." She fell back from her squat onto her butt and her shoulders dropped.

"Did you just admit to not understanding something, namely me?"

"Yes, I am not so conceited that I cannot admit when I am stumped," he continued in his pleasant tone. She heard him walk towards her and his form cast a shadow across the bed as he bent down and took the bandages from her hand. "You were fine with me when you first took me in, but now you react—"

"I thought I was imagining you! I was just going with it, assuming I was crazy, mad as a hatter and there was nothing better on in screwybrainland. Now that I know better there are social constraints!"

"But social constraints lead to 'awkwardness' do they not?" he asked and she could tell that he was making fun of her. "Perhaps you should try to 'just go with it more.'"

_'Somehow I think you wouldn't like being jumped by a college coed.'_ She slumped forward, her head hitting the mattress of her bed. "Ok, how about I be blatantly honest with you for a moment? Kurama, you are obscenely attractive. You make almost every other guy on campus look like a caveman or a computer programmer. Hell, half of them are computer geeks or trekkies. You're going to be the cute guy that everybody recognizes when you're walking around and all the girls drool over and talk about with each other and try to stalk on facebook. You're going to be the one people go to parties to see. And all the frat boys will want you to come to their frats because they know that'll attract tons of girls. And everybody will be wondering if your single, if you're taken, where you're living, who your friends are, and _who the hell_ that girl is who you're around all the time. And that just puts too much pressure on me, especially when you walk around without a shirt on! If I just shrug and go, 'yeah that's what he does' I look like a whore!"

"Obscenely attractive?" he asked in genuine surprise.

"Shut up and eat your macaroni and cheese."

* * *

**Lady-Cymsyn**: yay, I was worried things might seem a bit choppy, good to hear this format is working out! 

**Hieissoulmate5by5:** so glad you liked it! Lol, I've been wondering about what people think when they read the first one, and who they think our boy is at first, but yeah, if I'd been writing it as Hiei his reactions would have been far more angry and violent. (btw I absolutely adore Hiei, but I find he's harder to write) I'm glad you're giving Kurama a chance with my story, lol, there are so many different ways of trying to portray his character that even as a fan I find there are quite a few I just can't like.

**animegirl95**: lol cute but dark in some ways, I'm glad you like Gwen too!


	13. I hate you and your goofy glasses too

13

* * *

How long has it been? It's best not to count? Yeah, I agree. School was, to be honest, kicking my ass this past semester.

* * *

Monday was the beginning of classes. Gwen had two to go to, one was a large lecture but the other was a smaller language class. Her alarm went off at nine and the girl sat up in bed and began fumbling for the clock, intending to shut off the alarm and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, she had anticipated this reaction the night before and put the clock across the room on her desk.

"God damn, mother f-errrrugh," she growled as she tumbled out of bed and tripped across the room. She slammed her hand down on the clock and the noise stopped. Flipping her hair back from her face, she looked around the room. Her roommate had only turned over in bed and pulled the covers higher but Kurama had sat up and was now smiling at her.

"You do realize you only pressed the 'snooze' button, don't you?" said the fox demon.

She blinked in annoyance and looked back at the alarm clock still suffering under the pressure of her fist. With a grunt she switched the alarm off. Then she turned her attention back to her newest roommate, who was now up and moving around.

"I have to get dressed," she stated.

"As do I if I am to accompany you to class," he replied as he pulled open a drawer and began pulling out clothes.

"You can't get changed in here!" Gwen managed to make the statement an exclamation without raising her voice.

"I was planning on going to the bathroom," he responded glancing over at her with a wry smile. "My, Gwen, you really aren't a morning person."

"Ugh." She watched him with annoyance, waiting for him to get out of her way so she could get to her clothes. He took his clothes and with a faint smile left the room, silently pulling the door closed behind him. "Stupid, smart, morning person," Gwen growled as she tossed out a pair of shorts and a tank top. "Thinks he knows everything."

She had finished getting dressed and was checking her email when Kurama finally returned. She shot him a suspicious look and he tried to smile normally but she caught something wrong. He seemed slightly ruffled and dropped his clothes into the hamper without really looking at what he was doing.

"And what took you so long, doing your make up?"

"Very amusing Gwen." When she continued to watch him from the corner of her eye he sighed and sat down on the futon. "The guys from your neighboring hall have begun asking me questions. At first it seems they assumed I lived on their hall, but now they're starting to realize that I am in fact staying—"

He stopped as Gwen started giggling. She covered her mouth and shot a quick glance at her roommate.

"I bet they're all insanely jealous of you, living with girls and all. They'll want to be your best friend."

"That's not how it was coming across," the boy responded.

"Well don't worry, I'll protect you from any mean boys. I'm not sure I can handle the girls though." She tossed a few books and her purse into her backpack and slipped on her flip-flops. "But no more worrying now, it's breakfast time!"

She slung her bag from her shoulder and ushered him out the door, pulling it shut with one last glance at her supposedly sleeping roommate. They strolled down the hall to the kitchen and found it empty. Eight thirty was not a respectable time for college students to be in a dorm kitchen, especially on the first day of classes. It didn't take long to toss down some cereal, and then they were off, headed to the lecture.

* * *

"Okay, this is History of Southeast Asia, 1600-present. You pay attention too so that you can help me get all the notes!" 

Kurama's attention was diverted from examining the large lecture hall they were entering as Gwen gave him his orders. She was pushing through the crowd to get a good seat and he was right behind her as she elbowed through taller students.

"Argh, freshman move so slow, they don't know what they're doing!" she growled as she slid down the row to the middle of the center section of seats a few rows from the front. "I was never that slow when I was a freshman! And half of them are dressed up, this isn't prep central, but it looks like they want it to be."

"Stressed at all?" Kurama asked as they sat down and she ripped her backpack open to get a notebook out.

"_No_. First classes are almost always short, do the syllabus, a short lecture, get the hell out, everyone's happy."

"Then why are you so angry?"

"Because it's nine in the morning on the first day of classes this year and half the girls in this room are already staring at you."

"What?" He was genuinely surprised and glanced around. Yes there were a few turned heads and some whispering he thought had to do with him, but he certainly wouldn't say half. It was a large lecture too, there was no way that many people had seen him, or cared. "I think you're just grumpy."

'And territorial,' she added mentally while glowering at the blonde wearing two polos, both with popped collars, who had turned around in her chair to look over Kurama. 'I hate you and your big goofy sunglasses too and wish you a long painful death,' she thought as the girl turned back around to compare notes with the girl next to her. 'With my luck he'll like all the attention.'

The professor strolled in almost late, with his TA trailing behind him, a large stack of syllabuses in her arms. She dropped them onto the desk in the front with obvious relief before going to confer with the professor. The pair talked for a minute while students finished taking their seats and quieted down, waiting to hear their doom.

"Well hello class, as you can see this is quite a big lecture. I'm hoping that I'll see almost this many of you every day, and not just for the midterm and final." Chuckles broke out from the crowd, especially from the students already planning not to return for half a semester. "Let's go over the syllabus first, then I'll let you enjoy the rest of this sunny day. Unless of course your day is ruined by other lectures, I'm afraid I can't do anything about those."

* * *

"That really was short."

"Yeah, the one time this entire year that class will be. I know it's going to kill me, grind me into the ground and spit on me."

"Why take it then?"

"Major requirement." She pulled out her planner and flipped it open to that day. "Let's see it's ten now, I agreed to lunch with the girls at twelve. God it's always a nightmare in the dinning halls then 'cuz **everybody** gets food at noon. Shelly's in class till three, and I have my next one at two, so I'm done at three too. Then tonight I have club volleyball practice from eight to nine thirty. Where are you going to go?"

He was ready for the question. He had been thinking and knew he had to start making decisions himself.

"The library. It is a pleasant place, with an extensive collection I will be happy to browse through. It also has computers."

"You need a student account to access them." Her naivety was charming as she frowned at him. "And I'm not exactly going to give you mine, no offense."

"Oh, none taken. And I think you'll find needing an account will prove no problem."

A short burst of air, a huff or something similar, combined with the quick dart of her eyes was all she allowed herself in response. She had forgotten he was a master thief and code breaker, but she didn't want him to know. It was unnerving to think about, to think he could hack the school's computers, that he could steal things with ease, that he had in the past. That those hands had killed. She forced her mind away from the topic, forced it back to the present, back into the blinding sun and sweltering heat that surrounded them. Most people were scurrying to the air conditioned buildings around campus, except for those lucky few who had free time and were lounging in the sun, tanning or playing around.

Gwen glanced at her cell phone, then longingly at the disks flying across the grassy quad. "I have two hours, wanna play Frisbee?"

"Excuse me?"

Now that was a question that could be taken different ways. He could have genuinely not heard her, he could have not understood, or, most likely, he was implying that she should not ask such a thing, that it was below him. The sun was too bright, the heat too cloying in its humidity. Suddenly all she wanted was to be alone, away from him in a cool, dark place. She wanted to hide.

"Well sorry if it's not your cup of tea, I thought it might be nice to actually have some fun for a change. I didn—"

"Gwen," he cut in before she could say anything offensive. "What is Fi-ris-bee?"

She stopped in her tracks and pointed at the red plastic disk soaring along to their left.

"Oh. You would have to show me what to do. It shouldn't take long to pick up."

"Well come on then!" She grabbed his hand and started running. His eyes widened but he didn't say anything, he just let her pull him back to her dorm.

* * *

"Alright, now this is a frisbee," Gwen held up her black frisbee and waved it through the air.

"Yes, well I did piece things together a bit after you pointed one out."

"Quiet you." She tossed the disk to him and shoved her keys in her back pocket. "Let's see I think I got everything: keys, ID, cell phone, shades. Yup, let's go!"

They went out into the quad, the one before her building was much less crowded than the grassy spaces down by the academic buildings. There were only a few sunbathers and one group playing ultimate frisbee taking up space. They stood away from the mad group that was rushing back and forth before her friends' building and Gwen kicked off her shoes.

"Okay, so you throw it like this." She gave her wrist a slight flick and the disk came gliding through the air towards him. "Then the other person catches it."

His fingers closed on the surface, but the plastic was slick and it slipped through to collide with his shoulder. A burst of giggles came from Gwen and he shot a stern look in her direction.

"Try using two hands next time, that's what I do to keep it from breaking my nails!"

"I do not need to protect my fingernails," he said with a little snap as he bent to pick up the Frisbee. He hadn't been able to clearly see how she was holding it and tried to improvise. It wobbled through the air and fell ludicrously short.

"You throw worse than my little sister!" Gwen shrieked, bent almost double with laughter. "**You**! This is too funny."

"Well perhaps if you would show me how instead of laughing…"

The laughing continued, but Gwen was trotting towards him, having scooped up the frisbee as she passed. She stopped beside him and spun around so they were facing the same direction.

"It's like this!" She held out her hand for him to see and snapped her wrist, sending the disk soaring through the air. "Quick! Go get it!"

"What?!"

"Run!" she yelled, suddenly pushing him from behind.

Startled, Kurama took off running. He put on a burst of speed any of the guys playing across the field from them would have envied and snatched it from the air. This time it did not slip away from him. He turned on the spot and allowed himself a slight smile at Gwen's shock. He tried to flick his wrist in the same way as she had, but he was far stronger than her and not as practiced. They both watched as it flew over her head and bounced off the building behind her.

"You're not trying to kill me, are you?" she laughed as she ran to catch the wobbling thing as it fell to earth.

"I'm sorry if my performance is not up to your standards Gwen."

"Don't pout! Just don't throw it so hard, and remember to aim." She threw it back to him and he caught it. "You're holding it all wrong!" she cried as she watched him prepare to return it.

The smallest of smiles crossed his face before it returned to an expression of affable confusion as she trotted to him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gwen shook her head and began tugging on his hand. She rearranged his fingers then stepped back. "Okay, try that."

"Alright." He moved to throw the frisbee but was stopped again.

"No no no! Turn when you throw it, don't just fling your arm out, you don't get the right spin!"

"But I thought I put too much force into it?"

"Yeah, so don't throw your arm out so much!"

"Like this?"

"No! Give me that!" She snatched the Frisbee from his hand and stepped back before throwing it. She forgot she was dealing with a demon, and Kurama deflected before it could hit him in the face. "You're doing it on purpose! I know you are."

"Did you just attack me Gwen?" His voice was calm and deadly as he lowered his hand to look at her. Her eyes widened slightly and her knees bent.

"You deserved it!" she yelled and began running.

"Gwen!"

He sprinted after her, letting her stay just a bit ahead. She let out a scream and put on a burst of speed, veering away. Of course he was faster than her, of course his stamina was much better, but he let her get farther ahead. He took a few seconds to catch up with her again. Even as a child he had never played like this, he had been too withdrawn, too focused on himself, and had seen the activity as pointless. Then he had grown up; he had avoided making human friends and didn't know how to 'play' with girls his own age. But he seemed to be getting along fine at the moment.

Gwen glanced back and let out another squeal before pivoting away. He lunged forward, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her into the air as she yelled. His right arm gave a twinge at the strain as he spun her around on the uneven ground. He stepped into a muddy depression, left after the heavy rains the previous week, and they both went falling backwards to collide with the ground. Gwen was giggling like mad as he let out a groan. She rolled over and pushed herself up on one arm.

"Are you okay?"

"I think I twisted my ankle, but otherwise—"

She burst out laughing and threw her arm across him, letting her head thunk down on his shoulder. Her whole body was shaking with laughter. "I can't believe how injured you keep getting!" she told him between her laughs. "It shouldn't be legal for you to hurt yourself this much. But seriously, you need to watch where you're going."

"Says the girl who almost fell down the stairs."

"Hey, who's laying collapsed on the ground?"

"You, for one."

"No, I'm collapsed on you." 'Which is not the smartest place to be,' her brain reminded her. 'Remember that he has to leave!' She pushed her self up quickly and rubbed the side of her face as her giggles died away. Her eyes drifted to the group still playing ultimate frisbee. "Want to try that again, but without the tripping and falling?"

It seemed like he had read her mind as he sat up as well. "Yes. I think I know what I need to do now."

* * *

Hearts and Love and Yummy Cookies to all my readers and reviewers! 

**Celedeen Tachibana**: lol thanks! I'm glad I always have at least one thing to make you laugh

**cher-cher91**: ah this wasn't soon at all, was it?! Thanks for wishing me luck!

**InuKurama**: Youko will come back at some point. I love him too much not too, lol!

**Cheza**: Thanks so much!

**Lady-Crymsyn**::love!:: thanks for always reviewing!

**MangasFan:** Using another account to post? uh-oh, lol. I thought the m&c might be a bit much, but it was too funny to resist!


	14. Just Playing

14 

Kurama enjoyed spending time browsing through the school library that afternoon. It was five solid floors of books, books on every topic and subject imaginable from the vagrancies of the cosmos to miniscule details of cells and obscure historical events. There was even a children's section. He went downstairs again at the appointed time to meet Gwen and found her curled up on a couch. She was asleep, just like several other students he had seen in his exploration of the building. It seemed the library, with its enforced quiet and many nooks with comfy couches, was a favored napping place.

He stood there for a moment debating whether or not to wake her. Then she attempted to roll over in her sleep and nearly fell off the couch. She ended up with her leg dangling precariously and her arm sticking out at a weird angle, indicating it would be numb if she remained like that much longer.

"Gwen," he touched her shoulder gently and she shot up, grabbing the back of the couch as she did so.

She clapped a hand over her heart and fixed her blank eyes on him. "Kurama? Ohmigod, don't scare me like that!"

"And how would you like me to wake you up?"

"I wasn't asleep! What time is it?" She answered her own question by pulling her cell phone from her purse and staring blearily at it. "Three oh four, wow I've been here for almost a half hour."

"You have?!"

"Yeah, class got out early and I knew I wouldn't find you in here so I lay down to, uh, rest a bit."

"I didn't know you were that tired Gwen."

"I'm not!" She shook her head and rubbed her eyes before standing up. "So what do you want to do now?"

"Well," he paused and found it hard to meet her eyes with what he was going to say. "I would really like to look around in here a bit more. I haven't gotten to look through most of the sections in great detail yet."

"Oh, so you do like the library, cool. Well I'm gonna go take a nap then. If you want to get in the dorm you know you can hover until someone with a card goes in."

"But I thought you said you weren't tired?" he asked with a small smile.

"Well if you wanted to go off tramping through the woods or go out shopping I didn't want you to think I was too tired to go with you. Just make sure you're back at some kind of decent time for dinner and I'll try to actually cook real food tonight."

He chuckled and she shot him a dark look.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking of last night."

She flushed and smacked him with her purse. "Shut up! You're so mean to me." He kept chuckling as she walked past, shooting him a dirty look. "Have fun with your books since you like them better than people!"

His mouth unhinged slightly, but she was already past him and walking quickly for the door. There was no way he could respond now, this was the library after all. He watched her go, hips swinging as she walked. That was a sashay, wasn't it? He decided it was as she flipped her hair. A passing student paused to give Gwen a second look and Kurama's jaw snapped closed. But why should he care if other guys looked at her like that? This was exact thing he had to avoid if he was going to stay sane.

Gwen arrived back at her dorm, less huffy but still embarrassed. 'Why do I always say the stupidest things?!' She slumped against the wall beside her door and let her head thunk back against the surface. It was cool in the building now that the air conditioning had been running, but still humid. A clammy cold had settled on her in spite of the fact that she imagined she could still feel her face burning with embarrassment. She wiped at a few beads of sweat and shivered slightly as she reached for the handle. It was locked. "Hm, thought Shelly'd be in by now." Before she could turn her keys in the lock she heard the door click and there was her roommate, flushed with her hair disheveled. And there was her boyfriend standing a few feet behind her.

"Uh, hey Gwen," they said, almost in unison.

"Hey guys." 'God why are they always so awkward about it? That just makes it ten times more awkward for me!' "I was just gonna grab my computer and a book and go study in the lounge."

Shelly stepped back out of the way and Gwen slipped into the room. She shoved her laptop closed and grabbed a few of her books, trying to think as quickly as possible while her Shelly and Peter stood behind her, nervously shifting from foot to foot. She slung her purse over her shoulder while picking up her computer under her arm.

"Well I'll see you guys later!"

"It's not like you uh, have to rush out," Peter said. He was tall and his complexion dark enough to mask the slight flush that was lingering on his face. "We were uh, just going to watch TV."

"Yeah, but we hadn't picked what we were going to watch yet."

"No, no, that's fine. I need to study, and that's what the lounge is for!"

Gwen shot from the room as fast as she could without seeming to be running away from them. The door shut right behind her and she heard the click of the lock, wincing slightly. In the lounge everything was quiet, no one else was there and most people were off the hall, either outside or in class. Gwen found the comfiest couch and dragged a table over. The table was for her stuff, the couch was for her, and she curled up quickly and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Some good smell was leaking out of the kitchen. People were pausing in the hallway outside the closed door to sniff the air and wonder what was on the stove. They could tell it smelled far more appetizing than anything they would find in the dinning halls that night. Chicken and soy sauce and peppers sizzling. Jealous and hungry they kept walking, wondering who was cooking. 

The kitchen door swung open silently and a figure stepped into the room unnoticed by the occupant. She was standing at the sink and humming to herself as she scrubbed out a pot. He approached quickly but with silent steps as the girl continued humming. She was also singing under her breath and snatches of the words became audible as he stopped directly behind her.

"I'm thinking it's a sign, that the freckles in our eyes... and when we kiss, they're perfectly aligned."

"And who might you be kissing Gwen?"

She screamed and jumped several inches in the air. As the scream was ending she spun around, flinging out the arm that was holding the soapy pot. He ducked easily enough but saw her eyes target him as she lunged forward with an angry cry.

"**What The HELL?!?! Are you trying to kill me? I think my heart just about exploded!**"

"I was just trying to surprise you, Gwen. Please calm down!"

"**Don't tell Me to calm down!**"

He pulled a chair out from the table and dragged it between them. She tried to circle around but he circled in the opposite direction, making sure to stay out of smacking range. The door opened suddenly and a girl poked her head into the room.

"Hey, what's going on in here? Do you need help with something?"

"I'm sorry, it's my fault," Kurama said to the girl as they both stopped in their tracks.

"You should be!" Gwen brandished the pot at him, soap suds flying everywhere. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that." She turned to look at the girl and her voice returned to normal speaking levels. "He snuck up behind me and scared the crap outta me."

"Ah. I hate when that happens to me. I'm Ashley by the way, in the second room on the left." She pointed in the direction of their hall.

"Hi Ashley, I'm Gwen, live at the end of the hall with Shelly. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Gwen." Her eyes flicked to Kurama and Gwen kicked the chair he was still hiding behind. He jumped and shot her a dark look.

"This is Kurama, he's staying with me for a bit."

"Hi." Ashley managed to not go pink as she waved slightly, but maybe she wasn't swayed by his looks, not everybody liked red-heads.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ashley. I'm sorry if we disturbed you."

"No problem, I'm just glad you weren't like killing each other!" She waved again and disappeared from view, letting the door swing closed behind her.

Kurama looked back at Gwen to find her glaring at him. She let out a huff and turned away, back to the sink. The water whooshed on again and she resumed rinsing the pot.

"Gwen?" No response. "_Gwen._" She shifted her position slightly so that her back was completely towards him. He pushed the chair back in and stepped towards her. It was apparent that she was still trying to get her breathing under control. He decided to try acting more like a normal college student. "Come on, I was just playing," he said in perfect imitation of a student he had overheard earlier.

She turned her head just enough to fix one eye on him, radiating displeasure. "Don't do it again."

"What's the big deal?"

She shook the pot off and set it in the drying rack. With another slow, deliberate movement she shut off the water, then dried her hands. As she turned to face him, planting her hands on her hips, he could tell that her heart rate was still elevated.

"I don't like it is the big deal. I hate being scared like that, and by god don't you start sneaking up and poking me or I'll kill you." She caught his skeptical look and glowered further. "I mean it, I hate being snuck up on. It's just one of my quirks, and my heart's Still racing!"

"I'm sorry I scared you."

"And you're late for dinner! It's after seven, when do you think a decent time is?"

"It's that late already?"

She rolled her eyes and pointed at the table where food was set out. There was only once place though and Kurama shot her an inquisitive look as he moved towards the table. She turned her back on him again and began washing something else.

"I got hungry and ate, I wasn't going to wait for your lazy ass. And then I put everything else away, I've been cleaning up since. I have to get all these done and get changed so I can go to practice."

"Gwen I'll finish the rest of the dishes."

"I'm already soapy and gross I might as well finish them." He sat down uneasily and she sighed. "So, find anything good in the library?"

"Yes actually, there are quite a few books I'd like to at least skim over a bit more thoroughly, or read through."

"Tomorrow I can check 'em out for you if you want. That way you could go outside and read or something."

"That would be kind of you. And what have you been doing besides cooking?"

She gave a short laugh and shook her head slightly. "When I got back Shelly and Peter were making out so I took a nap in the lounge then did homework, then cooked. And now-" she shut off the water triumphantly and tossed a set of measuring cups into the drying rack. "I have finished washing." She let out another long breath and sank into the chair across from him.

"They were making out?"

"Yeah, the door was locked and then she jumped up to open it and was all flushed and sketchy looking. She was also red right here," Gwen tapped her chin right under her lip. "The sign of heavy face sucking. And they both had messy hair. It was So awkward."

"I can imagine. So Shelly makes out with her boyfriend in your room?"

"Yeah, when I'm not there. Hopefully they'll go over to his room too sometimes!"

He wasn't exaclt comfortable discussing the make-out habits of her roommate, so he decided it was best to switch topics. "So what do you do at volleyball practice?"

"Get hit in the head by volleyballs."

He choked and looked up at her, but her face was perfectly serious.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, I normally take at least one to the head each practice."

"How does that happen?"

"Different ways." She glanced up at the clock and jumped in her seat. "Ah, I've got to go! I'll leave you my laptop to play with, okay?"

"Okay" he said as she sprang out of her chair and ran back to her room. A few minutes later she ran back into the room and set the computer on the table. He noted her volleyball outfit, the tank top and small athletic shorts, along with her water bottle and keys. Most unfortunately it was flattering and he shifted his attention to her computer. "Have a good time at practice Gwen."

"Thanks, I'll see you later!"

* * *

The days with Gwen passed surprisingly quickly for Kurama. He attended her lecture classes, ate breakfast and dinner with her and spent most of her free time in her company. When he was not with the girl he was reading somewhere around campus, whether it was on the grassy quads or under a tree around the academic buildings. Some evenings they would sit together in her room, just talking about their lives. Kurama was still not one to open up easily but he was happy to listen to Gwen talk and through her stories she was able to pry little bits of information from him. By the end of the week they had settled into a pattern and Gwen was looking forward to a break from the already mounting burden of homework she was facing, and spending some more time with her friends. 

"I promised Bev we'd go over for a bit," Gwen said as they were finishing up dinner. "She was threatening to come kidnap me if I wouldn't come myself, and if she did that there'd be no escaping from her all night."

"I don't have any problem going with you to visit your friends," Kurama replied as he began clearing off the table. "They're fun girls and Bev did promise that it would serve to enlighten me as to what _real_ college students do for fun."

"Implying of course that I am not real," Gwen sniffed and pushed back her chair. "I doubt it will enlighten you though, you've probably seen everything there is to do already."

"You'd be surprised at the human experiences I have missed out on these past twenty years." He was watching her pack the rest of the food away into plastic containers as he began washing the dishes.

"Speaking of which," she shot him a smile over her shoulder, "the first home football game is next weekend and there's no way you can escape going!"

"And here I thought I told you there was no way you could escape taking me to one of your football games."

"I just wanted to make sure you knew you couldn't chicken out at the last minute."

"As you wish."

She glared at him over her shoulder but he was calmly washing the dishes and not even paying any attention to her. As Gwen came over to help him dry the dishes Kurama repressed his slight chuckle and stole a glance at her. The first time he had used that phrase quite accidentally and she had started as if shocked. This time it was deliberate but all he had gotten was a suspicious glare. 'I'll have to find out what it is a reference to,' he thought as she took the pot from hand and dropped it in the drying rack.

"We've got some time to kill before venturing out into dangerous territory, wanna make fun of Peter until he leaves?"

"I'll back you up, but I'm afraid I don't know him well enough to taunt him on my own."

"It's easy, just support the opposite of whatever his view is and then refuse to listen to rational arguments, it drives him crazy."

"Ah, so that's how you do it."

"Yeah, but I thought you alreayd knew that."

* * *

Ice Cream For Everybody! to commemorate global warming! (Though it has just gotten cold where I am, but I don't think it will last.) 

**Ashentorealm**: oh no not the puppy dog eyes, who could say no?! Here's more just like you asked!

**LunarWolf134**:) ah yes the horror of finals! I guess schools with fancy names figure they can just slack off since they've got the name part covered and sounding good is what matters, lol.

**Celedeen Tachibana**: yay for cookies! Wait, Noo, I've had too many already, I'm going to explode!

**Lady-Crymsyn**: hearts as always!

**cher-cher91**: yes, definitely too cute, perhaps to the point of OOC-ness, but I don't care, it's necessary!

**InuKurama**: yay for cuteness! But of course there needed to be fi-ris-bee, no college experience is complete without it, but could you imagine the spirit detectives playing together? It would go flying through buildings and result in some kind of violent out burst!

**Spirit Evolution**: I don't know why it popped up in your mailbox either, perhaps a fortuitous mix up with the email servers, but however it happened I'm glad you're enjoying my story!

**Jade**: ah no, there was no tree or enraged horde of fangirls out for my blood (and I sure hope there won't be any in the future either!). But my work did hit me like a truck! I'm a terrible procrastinator, lol

**Zodiac Eclipse**: Yes! Hiei can be so tricky to write for, mainly because he's straight up psychotic, but that's what makes him loveable! And then there's the fact that he's mostly interested in killing things and people, and causing destruction, all very necessary things, but it makes it hard to have him focus on less violent matters

* * *


	15. Naked Again

15 

In honor of my triumphant return to the hallowed halls of learning (and communal bathrooms), I give you a shower scene.

* * *

The harsh lighting reflected from the off-white titles in a most unfortunate way. The setup had been poorly designed and caused the whole room to seem dingy and not quite up to health codes. 'At least it doesn't smell today.' Kurama was in the shower with the water beating down steadily in it's droning roar. His acute ears managed to pick up, very faintly, a whispered conversation in the other part of the bathroom. One of the speakers moved away from the other two and came towards the showers. He sighed to himself and kicked his shower caddy into the corner. For some reason he felt whatever was going on would mean ill tidings for him. So he was relieved when, instead of tearing down the shower curtain or something similar, the boy merely walked past the stall he was in, called something to the occupant of the last stall, and left the bathroom. 

Maybe he was just a paranoid demon after all, perhaps vain too to immediately assume all whispered conversations would have something to do with him. He finished his shower and reached past the curtain for his towel. All he felt was air. He patted the wall quickly and found the empty hook. 'Not good at all,' he thought to himself as he twitched the curtain aside enough to see that the towel and his clothes had not fallen to the ground. They were long gone.

"Damn."

Luckily the shower curtain was handy. He reached up and unhooked it, his nose twitching as he was forced to come into contact with the rather disgusting thing. He folded it quickly to cover the wet side and then wrapped it around his waist like a towel, an extra long, unwieldy, plastic towel. A large portion of the guys' hall was waiting for him and started catcalling when the bathroom door opened. The catcalls fell off but their laughter continued as he walked down the hall wrapped in a shower curtain.

"Hey pretty boy, don't you want your clothes back?" one of the larger guys, he thought named Billy, yelled after him.

Kurama paused and sighed. "Yes, I would like them back, but you obviously have no intention of returning them at the current time, and I would prefer to address you while clothed."

"You could try asking nicely!" one of the others called.

Kurama half turned, fixing them all with the bottomless glare that had petrified scores of opponents. They were all taken back by the heartless look, the expression that was not so far from his normally mild one, yet managed to convey a great depth of disdain and utter contempt for them. And then they saw the scabby mess of his stomach, half hidden by the way he was turned and the shower curtain, the little lines of blood running out from gore. It had been only a week after all, and though he healed fast, he had lost a lot of skin during the fight.

"I don't ask for what is mine by right." He turned away from them and strode barefoot from the hall. They had even taken his shower shoes but he still walked with his usual, controled steps.

* * *

"Gwen, Shelly, I am very sorry to have to ask this, but do you think the two of you could possibly step out for a moment while I get dressed?" 

Both girls looked around immediately, Gwen halfway to saying something when she froze. Shelly blushed while Gwen shot out of her chair straight towards him, grabbing a towel from the back of the door as she pulled him into the room.

"Oh my god what happened?!"

"I'm afraid they took my clothes while I was in the shower."

"They didn't!" Shelly cried. She got up from her chair and hurried across the room. "Of course we'll go out while you change!" She grabbed her roommate, who was trying to blot at the blood, and pulled her out the door, then drew it closed. "I can't believe they took his clothes, he doesn't even live on their hall!"

"It because he doesn't live on their hall," Gwen snapped. She smacked her fist into her open palm and glared towards the boy's hall. "I'm going to go give those bastards a piece of my mind as soon as I make sure he's okay. I had hoped the bleeding was stopped."

"That, well," Shelly waved her arm about while grimacing, "his stomach looked serious."

"It was. He was mugged and that's what they did to him."

"Poor guy!" She looked past Gwen and waved to another girl who had just walked onto the hall. Gwen turned and waved too as the girl headed for her door. "Ah there's Shadya, I have to talk to her about hall council elections, I've been waiting for her to get online for an hour. I'll be back in a bit Gwen."

"Yeah, have fun trying to convince her not to run against you."

The door opened as Shelly set off down the hall. Kurama stepped out and unceremoniously dumped the shower curtain in the hallway. He had put on shorts but was standing there shirtless and without bandages. The blood was dribbling down onto the waistband of his shorts and Gwen grimaced.

"You're a mess! Go sit down before you bleed everywhere and I'll wrap you up like a mummy again," she said as she pushed him back in the room.

"I'm sorry; I did not think it would open up so much. Normally I would have put the old bandages back on immediately, but they took those as well."

An ominous rumbling noise began in Gwen's throat as she pulled a tub out from under her bed and extracted a roll of bandages from it. The low growl continued as she straightened and marched back over to Kurama.

"Maybe you should let me do that?" he offered hopefully, but she held the roll away from his hands.

"Last time you messed it up and made me redo them for you."

"That was because I strained my arm!"

"Shut up and sit down mister."

Seeing the futility in arguing with her at the moment he sat down where he was, folding his legs under his body and resting his hands on his knees while she sank to the carpet beside him. She scooted closer and began unrolling the bandages.

"Here, hold this end," she said as she positioned it at his side.

"I thought you were going to do this because I am injured and incompetent?"

"Oh, you are _so_ funny, I'm just dying of laughter over here. I bet your mother loved that sense of humor." He gave the end he was holding an involuntary tug as she reached around him to hand off the roll. "I know I get yelled at for being a smart ass."

"Shiori," he said slowly as she adjusted the line she was wrapping, "is not one to yell."

"Oh." Her mind flipped quickly to everything she knew of his mother from what she'd read, but she discarded it just as quickly knowing any or all of it could be far from the truth. "Is she just too nice to discipline her only baby?"

He smiled slightly, knowing she couldn't see his face at the moment. "Yes. In many ways she is far too nice. In many ways I was not the perfect son and probably deserved to be yelled at."

Gwen snorted and pulled the bandages tighter. "No one is perfect, hell, most people don't even try. Everybody worries their parents; everybody puts the ones they love through hell at some point and a lot of the times they don't mean to. You can't expect to be perfect."

She looked up at his face to see a smile there that held no happiness, just a deep sadness and resignation. "How else am I supposed to atone?"

"Bullshit," Gwen said immediately. "You're not Catholic, get over the guilt complex. You be a good child by loving your parents, respecting them and trying to understand them. But you can't always be what they want you to be, and they as parents need to accept you for who you are as a person. Your case is way too weird, granted, but you've been trying for a while to do what you can to make your mother happy and proud, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"Well that's all you can do. You can't change who you are inside. I will always disappoint my parents because I am thoughtless and forgetful, I won't call on anniversaries or send cards when I'm supposed to. You will disappoint because you're aloof and difficult to understand."

"And I'm a demon."

"Yeah, but it's not like she knows that."

"But I know that she feels there is something wrong with me. You can't understand what it's like to grow up seeing her reach out only for me to pull away. I tried to leave her many times, I was that cold, but something kept me back. You can't know the guilt I feel over those times Gwen, and even now she's probably worrying about me, her absent son."

"What is it," she said sitting back on her haunches and looking off to the side. "'Words are the medium we use to communicate our thoughts and feelings to others, so all words have a common, agreed upon meaning that everybody understands, but at the same time every word has a specific, personal meaning to each individual. So we can never truly convey to others our exact meaning.' I'm paraphrasing existentialists or something."

He looked at her curiously as she bent forward again to finish bandaging him up. He couldn't help wondering quite where she was going, though it was an interesting idea.

"So I might not be able to understand _your guilt_, but I know what **Guilt** feels like. The heavy weighted feeling clawing at your insides. They're not the same, but they are." She finished her task and handed him the roll so he could tie it off. "Remember not to walk around half-naked again," she said and jumped up.

"Gwen, where are you going?" he asked, but too late, she was already out of the room and heading down the hall. Kurama let out a soft curse and finished with the bandages as quickly as he could.

* * *

Gwen jogged down the hallway towards the guy's hall. She didn't want Kurama to get into a fight, which was a possibility if he was left to retrieve his clothes on his own. His perpetually cool demeanor and the way he'd treat the others as inferiors would certainly provoke them. Or, as was more probable he would just ignore the incident, viewing it as not worth his time. She threw open the door between the hallways and gave it an extra kick so it slammed into the wall with a loud crack. A few guys were still standing around and watched her carefully as she came down their hall. 

"I have a shower curtain to return," she said, flinging the wet mess in the direction of the guys standing around. "Who should I talk to?"

"Why don't you talk to the guy who took it?"

"Why don't you tell me who took my friend's clothes?"

"What friend would that be?" they laughed.

"Come on guys, why are you being such douches?"

"Why's your boyfriend using our bathroom?"

"He's a guy, he can't use the girls' bathroom. Anyway the hall agrement was you guys can send girls to use our bathroom and we're allowed to send guys to use yours."

"Yeah, but he looks girly enough to use your bathroom. If he's gonna live on a girl's hall, he might as well use a girls' bathroom."

With all the noise from their arguing they didn't hear the door to the hall open again, or see the young man walking towards them.

"Come on Gwen," Kurama said. He had flip-flops on and was still pulling his shirt straight as he reached out a hand to take her arm. "Don't bother with them, they're just being childish right now." He paused and with a sly smile added: "This is how guys interact."

"What the hell happened to you anyway man?" a dark-haired boy named Brandon asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Kurama said, pulling Gwen back towards the door.

"Hey, let go! I thought I told you not to push me around!" She pointed a finger in his face and shook it angrily.

"Hm Gwen, you've got blood on your hands."

"Oh my, I wonder how that got there," she said, rolling her eyes. "I don't know anyone who has a habit of bleeding on me."

"Well that's good. You shouldn't associate with those type of people."

"Yeah, thieves and murderers the lot of them," she said as he guided her back to the girls' side of the floor. As soon as the door shut she began pulling on her arm. "Now will you let go of me?"

He chuckled and stopped walking. "It's not my fault you're so weak Gwen. Look." He held up the hand that was holding her wrist and removed fingers until he was only holding her by the thumb and middle finger. "Can you pull free from this?"

"That's not even funny!" She jerked on her arm but couldn't pull free. "Kurama!" She picked up her feet and he couldn't support her full weight. Her wrist slipped from his grip and she regained her footing almost instantly. As she sprung away towards her room she called "nyah nyah," back over her shoulder, then ran into the door.

She bounced off it slightly as her world was suddenly inverted and began to spin very quickly. But she hardly noticed the warping of space over the explosive pain throbbing in the side of her head. She didn't hear the burst of laughter behind her, and that was probably for the best as Kurama was not just chuckling but laughing like crazy. He had one hand holding his stomach and was covering his mouth with the other as he tried not to laugh, but when she dropped to a sitting position and began rubbing her head he couldn't even pretend to contain it anymore.

"Come on Gwen," he said between laughs as he pulled her to her feet. She was still holding her head as she let him lead her back into her room and sit her down on the couch. The pain was intense enough to have brought tears to her eyes, but it wasn't strong enough to save her from the embarrassment of realizing that she had just run into the door in front of Kurama. She felt like crying for real. "Here Gwen, let go." Her one open eye watched as he pulled her hands away from her face and pressed something cool to the side of her head. He took her hand and pressed it over the bag of ice.

"Thanks," she muttered under her breath as she held it to her forehead. 'God I hope i don't get a lump.'

"It's no problem. Do you feel alright?"

"No."

He laughed softly and placed a hand over his stomach. "Oh Gwen, don't you know it hurts when I laugh?"

"Hurts me too," she muttered, turning away from him as she reddened. He didn't stop laughing but he did pat her on the back.

"I still can't believe you ran straight into the door." She pulled away from him, hunching over even more and completly covering her face with the ice and her hands. He took this as a sign that the ice wasn't working and stood up again. "I'll get you some medicine for that headache. I believe it's in the first aid kit."

"Thanks." _'You Bastard.'_

* * *

I hope no one was offended by my little catholic comment, my family's mostly catholic, and so are some of my friends and they all joke about the 'catholic guilt complex,' so that's where that came from

**BrokenRedWings**: thanks. yeah i'm thinking one or multiple movie nights. that's what we've done to my japanese friend here, so far we've made her watch ferris bueller, princess bride, and monty python

**Zodiac Eclipse**: lame? 'sniff' I'm gonna go cry now! just kidding. Not a lot of people at my college are into anime and manga, there's an anime club (but i'm not in it) so I only know one other person here who reads manga (not counting my japanese friend). Now if someone did know the show, i still think most ppl would assume a person who looks like a character is doing it on purpose, acting the part. so if we did find a yyh fan at our unnamed college and they spotted kurama, they'd think it was some kind of perpetual cosplay/bad joke.

**Celedeen Tachibana:** I know, its truly depressing when you finally discover that there can be too many cookies T-T

**cher-cher91**: haha _yet_, let the unintentional implications continue! lol

**LunarWolf134:** sorry, all I know is that they invaded Rome, you could try wikipedia, they prolly have good info and links to other sites


	16. Doing Sex

16

* * *

This is a random quote I like when I was reading some homework: "narrative 'is simply there like life itself…international, transhistorical, transcultural.'…narrative is meta-code" 

But…'narrativization' should not be a word...

And more appropriate to this story in particular I couldn't help thinking of the Three Dog Night song 'Mama Told Me': "Want some whiskey in your water, sugar in your tea? What's all these crazy question they're asking me? This is the craziest party there could ever be. Don't turn on the lights cuz I don't wanna see..."I've seen so many things I've never seen before, Don't know what it is but I don't wanna see no more. Mama told me not to come…"

One last thing before I finish the rambling and get on with it, I want to say thank you too all the people who read this for giving my little story a chance and thank my reviewers for taking the time to tell me what they think.

* * *

"What happened?" Shelly asked as she reentered the room to find her roommate sitting on the futon with her head back and a bag of half-melted ice on her forehead. Gwen's eyes rolled to the side to look at Shelly but it was Kurama who responded from where he was sitting at Gwen's desk. 

"I'm afraid Gwen hit her head."

"Again?!"

"_Again?_"

"Shut up parrots one and two. I don't want to hear it right now."

"Are you gonna be okay to go over to Bev's?" Shelly asked as she walked across the room and plopped down in her desk chair. She leaned back in it to give her roommate a concerned look.

"Yeah I'll be fine once the pills kick in. Pills, pills lovely pills."

"Yes, thank God for painkillers."

They both patted their stomachs at this and Kurama quirked an eyebrow at them.

"Next week," Gwen said artificial happiness.

Shelly groaned in sympathy and thought for a second. "Week after next."

"So, Gwen said, sitting up and catching the bag of ice as it slid from her head, "what time is it?"

"Around nine thirty." Kurama had not understood the last part of their conversation completely but he thought it was probably better that he didn't.

"Alright, do I have a lump on my head?"

"No, but it's still kind of red."

"Nothing cover-up can't cure, I hope."

"Gwen, I think you should wait a while longer. It's not good to go running around just yet." Kurama was talking to her, but the girl wasn't listening.

She got up and tripped over to her desk, trying to balance the bag of ice on her head as she spun around. It fell off of course, but she caught it and plopped it back on her head as she pulled her makeup bag from one of her desk drawers and slipped into her shower shoes.

"I'll be back in—a while. Eck I'm no good at this stuff."

"Will she be okay going out like this?" Kurama asked Shelly as theb girl put on her earrings.

"Yeah she'll be fine. Just don't let her drink anything. Last year the one time she had more than one drink in under an hour she took three shots, kind of looked around, and then went to sleep, on Diana's bed."

"I'll keep that in mind. But I thought she said she doesn't drink."

"She doesn't normally, my good little roommate. But I don't know what happened then, I just heard about it later." Shelly finished with her jewelry and said goodbye to the lodger before heading out to meet her boyfriend.

* * *

"Do I look okay?"

Kurama turned at Gwen's voice as she reentered the room. He had picked up one of the magazines that was lying around and begun flipping through it while waiting for her. "Yes, your forehead is not red at all. But do you feel okay?" He stood and took a few steps in her direction as she tossed her things back into the desk drawer.

"I'm fine, I've had worse." She caught his expression and glowered. "Don't give me that look! Don't you go laughing again!"

"I wasn't going to laugh," he said mildly, taking a step back. "It's bad for my stomach."

"ARGH!" She spun around and smacked his arm. It might have been just a playful/aggravated slap, or it might have been a full-force, I-hate-you-you-vile-_thing_ slap, frankly he couldn't tell. Gwen really had no upper-body strength. He began chuckling and her eye twitched. "One day, when you're sleeping," she muttered half to herself, "a thick pillow…"

"Are you threatening me Gwen?"

"No, of course not, then you'd be on your guard. Come on, it's time for you to be molested."

A small noise of protest escaped his throat as he followed her to the door but she ignored him. She ignored him all the way downstairs and across the quad to the adjoining building. Meanwhile he was watching her as she strode along, not bouncing or traipsing at all. Her serious air of determination was not completly unusual, but it was normally reserved for when she was headed to class early in the morning and he didn't expect it going to her friend's. They entered the other building and took off down a hallway. Almost immediately Kurama could smell the faint traces of alcohol beneath the lingering perfume in the hall. Gwen stopped before a door through which they could hear loud music and laughter.

"Dun, da, da, dun, dun—da da." She knocked and the sounds inside hushed noticeably.

"Quick, put 'em away, come on guys," he heard hissed from the other side of the door. "Okay? Christine wake up, in front of you!" There was some more shuffling before the door finally did open and Bev's head appeared. "Hey, it is you guys, come on in."

She stepped aside and the noise in the room immediately picked up again. Kurama followed Gwen in. This was foreign territory to him, he didn't go to parties, he didn't go in for drunken debauchery, and he didn't know anyone besides Gwen and Bev.

"Hey! It's Gwen!" a couple people shouted and were immediately shushed by a blonde with short, curly hair who was holding a vodka bottle in one hand and a shot glass in the other.

"Keep it down guys, we don't wnat to get a noise complaint. Now who wants another round?" the blonde called out as the door behind them was shut and locked in one swift movement.

"Me, me!" a couple people called and the blonde began pouring.

The smell was almost overwhelming to Kurama and he could see Gwen wrinkle her nose as well. There were at least ten people already in the room meant to house two, but somehow they all fit, and managed to slide past each other as they shuffled around. The layout was similar to Gwen's room with two beds bunked in one corner, but they had a desk next to the beds so that they had to pass the person sitting there and controling the music as they entered the room. There was a low table in the middle of the room covered with beer cans and decks of cards. The other major furniture was pushed up against the walls, but they had a few round folding chairs scattered around and a futon. It seemed the ubiquitous college furnishing.

"Hey Gwen! How's it going?" One of the girls on the futon called and Gwen made her way towards her. This one was blonde too, but it looked more natural and darker than the one who was pouring drinks.

"Hey Rachel, good to see you!" Gwen slid up and neatly pulled the boy after her. "This is Kurama, Kurama, this is Rachel."

"Nice to meet you" they both said at once and Rachel held out a hand to shake.

"So you are Bev's roommate?" Kurama asked the girl while trying to keep his eye on Gwen. The girl was already moving again, shifting to the other side of the futon to say to hello to the two other people sitting down.

"Yeah, she met you the other day she said. Why doesn't Gwen bring you to lunch?"

"I assume she wants to have a meal without me for a change." He glanced up sharply as he caught his name, apparently Gwen was pointing him out to someone else.

"Why are you staying with Gwen and Shelly again?" she asked while making a face at him and waving her hand around. "Bev wasn't really good at explaining it, you know how it is."

He didn't in fact. "My passport was stolen and Gwen was kind enough to take me in until I get a new one."

"GWEN!" Kurama and Rachel jumped as one of the guys present apparently just realized the girl was there. Gwen gritted her teeth and smiled as he pulled her into a hug and teetered around in a circle. "I haven't seen you all year!"

"And now you have!" she exclaimed as he let go of her. "How are you doing Ray?" She put a hand on his arm, but also took a little step back to put some distance between them.

"Good! Let me get you a beer!" He turned halfway away from her towards the fridge and gestured for someone standing over there to toss him a beer.

"No thanks, Ray." Kurama watched as Gwen tugged at the young man's shirt to regain his attention and shook her head. She was about to walk away from him when he threw an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

"You sure? We were playing Kings!"

"I'm sure! You've had quite a few already, haven't you?" she laughed while rolling her eyes.

"How can you tell?! I'm not drunk yet, it's just hot in here!"

They were practically shouting even though they were standing close together, the music was much louder than the kitsune liked and everyone else was boisterous as well. Kurama forced himself to look away from the pair and pay attention to the girl who was sitting on the futon next to him. He found her watching him carefully and was uneasy under her sober contemplation. She had a beer in her hand but looked to be nursing it as she smiled at him.

"So, what are you majoring Rachel?"

"Premed, like Bev. I hear you're bio too?"

"Yes, though I lean more towards botany."

"Ah. Do you—" she was cut off as her roommate proceeded to drop onto her lap, nearly spilling the contents of her cup all over both of them.

"So you did get Gwen to come over after all!" Bev cried, throwing out her free hand to grab Kurama's arm.

"The idea to come was hers," he replied with a slight glance around. Gwen was not where he had last seen her and his eyes flicked further to find her by the blonde with another brunette.

"We're probably going over to one of the frats later, you guys are coming right?"

"I don't know," he said, sincerely hoping that they weren't.

"Hey, you're here with Gwen right?"

The remark came from much closer than he'd expected, and the voice was much too loud, even in that cramped, overloud space. He turned to face the man, 'young man' he corrected himself, who had hugged Gwen. He watched him close the rest of the short gap between them. It seemed this person did not understand personal space.

"I'm Ray!" he said, putting down his thermos and holding up his hand.

"Kurama," the redhead replied just audibly. He wished he could take a step back, but he was already leaning against a closet, and Ray apparently meant no harm, he was just 'friendly.'

Ray gestured again to the other guy by the fridge and this time he responded quickly, tossing a can across the room. "Here, man." A beer was pushed into Kurama's hand and Ray slapped him on the shoulder in a much too familiar manner. "So how's living with—"

"Don't give him that!" Gwen snapped, appearing beside the both of them and smacking Ray's arm.

"He can have a beer if he wants to. He's a man!"

"But now he'll feel obligated to drink it." Gwen lifted the unopened can out of Kurama's hand and handed it to whoever was behind her. Kurama glanced around her to see the person shrug and pop the can open. "You never give people the chance to turn down a drink!" While Ray was sputtering and trying to think of a response the girl grabbed Kurama's arm and pulled him across the room. It was hot in there, something the fox was becoming more aware of as he moved around, hotter than was comfortable.

"Meet Diana and Christine, they live on this hall too and were on my freshman hall," Gwen said as she stopped next to two other girls. Diana was the bleached blonde, and around Gwen's height. She was also wearing two polos, both with collars popped, and had a pair on sunglasses perched on her head though the sun had set long ago. They shook hands while the other girl waved and took a drink from the cup she was holding. Christine had brown hair and was taller than the other two, she was also wearing a polo, but had not turned up the collar. This distinction was one Gwen tended to focus on, especially when she was pointing out people to him, but he didn't see why it was so important, nor did he care for that matter.

"Nice to meet you at last," Diana said as she eyed Kurama critically.

Christine pulled Gwen out of the way slightly so she could approach him as well. "You're less girly looking then I thought you'd be."

"Christine!" Gwen exclaimed but she was shushed.

"Yeah, you can actually tell he's a guy."

"Diana!"

"Look, Bev's calling you," Christine practically yelled as she turned Gwen around and gave her a shove. She tripped over the guy sitting on the floor and had to go veering off to the side to avoid running into the coffee table. Bev was indeed waving at her but began laughing as she watched Gwen's progress. The other two people had moved off the futon so Bev was no longer sitting on her roommate's lap and when Gwen reached them she pulled the girl down to sit between them and wouldn't let her get up again when she tried.

* * *

"So, how are you and Gwen doing?" Christine asked him, bringing his attention back from his captive hostess.

"Very well thank you." Her eyebrows went up at his statement, but that was about all he could see of her over the red rim of her cup as she took another long sip.

"I've gotta say I'm really surprised by it all," Diana said as she offered him a drink. "When do you guys get to be alone? Isn't Shelly there after class?"

Kurama waved away the drink and glanced between the two girls. It almost felt like they were closing in on him even though they hadn't moved. "Well sometimes, but frequently Shelly goes out during the afternoon and evening and doesn't come back until after nine."

"Oh, so you've got the afternoons together," Christine looked thoughtful as she took a sip of beer.

"Afternoon delight," Diana said while lifting her cup slightly. Christine snorted and almost sprayed them with the contents of her mouth before she managed to swallow. Both girls started laughing at this and Kurama knew it was nothing good.

"Excuse me?" He didn't want to have to ask, it practically hurt him to ask. After all he was Kurama, he was supposed to know, and if he didn't already he was supposed to be able to figure it out before these humans could even blink. They continued laughing and his patience began to wear down. He knew the joke was at his expense, but didn't understand it.

"You know," Diana said, "we never expected Gwen—well I guess she has a wild side too. They do say you gotta watch the quiet ones."

"I think you both have had too much to drink and I don't understand what you are talking about." He looked around to see Gwen was still on the futon, and now it seemed like she was had collapsed sideways onto Rachel and they were both laughing hard enough to turn red. There would be no help from that quarter.

"He doesn't understand," Christine said, but in her red-faced, slightly unsteady state he couldn't tell if her surprise was genuine or not.

"Then we'll have to enlighten him." Diana nodded solemnly and then a smile broke through. She started coughing and looked away quickly.

Christine put a hand on his arm and looked him in the eye while forcing herself not to laugh. "Now we weren't consulted on this matter, you just kind of showed up. And while we're going to respect Gwen's choices it'd have been better if we'd approved you first. So, while you're sleeping together—"

"Shelly sleeps in the same room as well but you haven't mentioned her."

"But Shelly has a boyfriend; you're not sleeping with her. Wait, are you?" Diana snapped at him. "No way!"

"We all go to sleep at the same time, in our own beds." Oh he knew now; he knew but he wanted to get them to back off. He didn't want to go there.

"Yeah, but we're talking about what goes on during the afternoon." Seeing his blank stare Christine sighed and patted his arm. "You're pretty slow, man. We're talking about ess—ess…how does it go Diana?"

"Ee, eks."

"Yeah, sex!" Christine snapped and smacked him on the arm.

Brain frozen at their boldness Kurama gaped at them. He couldn't believe that they'd actually said it, actually accused their friend like that. "We're not—doing sex!"

Both girls screamed with laughter, focusing the attention of almost every other person in the room squarely on the three of them. Christine leaned back against the dressers behind her and slid to floor, her face getting even redder as she gasped for air. Diana was nearly as bad, howling with laughter and gripping a chair for support. He assumed it was because they were intoxicated that they were so amused, he knew he'd made a mistake, in the stress of the moment he'd forgotten the correct verb, 'to have' instead of 'to do,' sex being the direct object. It was an idiotic consturction, and it wasn't like they studied how to talk about sex in school, but one he should have known.

There was a loud buzzing from his pocket and he reached for his communicator, for once thankful that Koenma was calling him. "Please excuse me," he said bitterly as he moved towards the door.

Gwen was moving towards them but he got away and out the door as she stopped by her friends.

"Yes Koenma?"

* * *

Out in the hallway Kurama was having to carry on his conversation above his normal speaking level to be heard clearly on the other side. The noise from the room just seemed to continue to increase, not exactly his idea of a good Friday night. When he finished, he knocked on the door, mentally preparing himself to reenter that unpleasant situation, to force himself to interact with Gwen's friends. Nobody heard him so he knocked again. There was shuffling again, as they moved around and hid the more obvious cans, just in case it was an RA knocking. Gwen opened the door and leaned out.

"Oh? Yeah, of course!" she said loudly before he could even open his mouth. She turned around in the door and began waving. "We're gonna head out, see you guys later!" It was strange behavior. Her hand pressed gently against his chest, pushing him back as she came out and with her other hand pulled the door closed.

"But I didn't say anything," he said once they heard the click of the lock behind them.

"Yeah but it's not like you had to at this point." She started walking back towards the main set of door and he let her walk ever slightly ahead of him as he stayed quiet. One thing he had learned quickly was that Gwen would talk, and talk a lot, if you just prompted her briefly then didn't interrupt. "Thanks for coming over with me. I know it has to be awkward for you since you don't know any of them, but then meeting new people is frequently awkward. It's hard to know if you'll have something to talk about. Of course Diana and Christine had something they wanted to talk to you about." She let out an aggravated noise and stopped before the doors. As she turned around he saw her nervously running a hand through her hair, and she was avoiding making eye contact. "I'm really sorry about that, they were just goofing off. They get kind of rowdy when they're drunk, they're way more controlled and normal well, normally."

"I understand. I'm sorry that you are leaving early because of me, really I was fine with spending some more time, ah, in Bev's room."

"Well she'd be delighted to hear that," the girl laughed and headed back for the doors. "But I'm fine with leaving, and I'm not gonna make you put up with 'em. Next time I could always leave you in the lounge with a book and go myself."

"There's no reason I can't accompany you," Kurama said as they pushed out into the still humid night air. It was almost midnight now, but not at all chilly as they walked back to Gwen's dorm, the smell of fresh grass all around them. "Unless you don't want me to."

"No, of course I'd like it if you came. A bit of forced socializing might do you good, I was just under the impression that you don't like it much."

"Maybe I can learn to like it a little more," he said with a smile as she held the door open for him, her keys jingling in her hand and the light from the hall flooding out into the warm darkness. "Everything takes adjusting, and I should adjust myself to this world while I am here."

"That's a good plan, then you can go back to being a mysterious loner, the withdrawn reserved one, once you're not living with a bunch of girls." She smiled mischievously at him and ran up the stairs before he could respond.


	17. At least it wasn't A Walk to Remember

17 

Zomg, all my reviewers were signed in for the last chapter, that hasn't happened since like what, #3? faint. Language again in this one folks. (thinking of bumping the rating back up if I continue to be vulgar)

* * *

Tuesday morning Gwen woke up before the alarm. She lay there thinking as she realized she was awake. Something felt weird, off. Quickly her hand gravitated to her stomach; yes that was definitely where the weird feeling was coming from. 'Ohhhh,' she thought as realization dawned in her groggy mind. 'But how do I get up, across the room, into the closet, and then out the door without waking Kurama? He always wakes up when I get out of bed, like instantly.' She heard the noise of a body turning over and stayed very still. 

"Gwen?" came Kurama's soft voice from a few feet away.

"Yeah?" she whispered back.

He made a noise of hesitation before speaking again. "I smell blood."

Gwen was out of bed in an instant. She was fast enough to surprise even the kitsune as she shot out of bed and was pulling things out of the closet. Even as he was sitting up to see what she was doing she was already slipping into her flip-flops and running from the room.

'He can Smell it! Oh my god! That's so Wrong!' She ran into the bathroom to change as she was thinking these disturbing thoughts. 'So that means, when he's at school, he can smell which girls—ew!'

Finally she returned to the room, fully dressed, and deposited her pj's into the hamper. Tuesdays and Thursdays Shelly had the earlier class and so she was gone already. "Put a shirt on!" Gwen exclaimed as she walked into the room.

Kurama sighed and gave her an annoyed look. "Gwen, I'm trying to asses the remaining damage to my abdomen and ensure that everything has healed properly." He turned to the side a bit more and looked in the mirror. "You do not yell 'put a shirt on' at the other guys, in fact you seem quite admiring. Especially when they're playing Frisbee or football," he added with a sideways glance.

"Shut up! I'm a girl, I have **needs**! And, and," she said shaking her finger at him even as she was getting pinker. "I think it's gross that you can…smell It."

"It?" he asked with an amused glint in his eye as he took a few steps towards her. He reached out and caught some of her hair. "You mean your conditioner? It is very distinctive, but I thought the point was to smell it."

"You're fucking gross," she snapped as she slapped his hand away. "That's so not funny. You know what I'm talking about."

"I was just following your lead and switching topics when the discussion became uncomfortable." He let go of her hair and took a few steps away again. As he reached the dresser and began sorting through his drawer for a shirt he gave her another glance with a small smile. "What is his name, Brandon, the dark-haired fellow?" He had to repress a chuckle as he saw her flush further and she began to full-on glare at him. "You seem to like looking at him the most."

"Almost as much as you like looking at Bev when she goes bouncing by in one of her hoe shirts. Don't think I didn't see those green eyes go straight for the boobs when she plopped down on Rachel the other night."

"I did not—" he started to say in an indignant tone.

"I saw it!"

He stopped rooting for a shirt and gave her a curious look. "You were watching me?"

"Yes! To make sure she didn't try and drag you down onto the futon and sit on you, though maybe you would have been fine with that now that I think about it." She spun around and stamped for the two steps it took her to reach her desk. "Boys!" she huffed under her breath as she began fiddling with the things on her desk and shoving books into her back pack.

"And what if I am attracted to Bev?" he mused while he went back to the dresser.

"You should move in with her then. She'd be more than happy to have her own pet boy around."

"I doubt she would cook for me," he laughed.

"Yes, so you'd better not go live with her then. God knows you think of your own comfort first and foremost."

She instantly regretted saying that and with a start began moving towards the door. Somehow this conversation had gotten mean on both sides, probably because they were still getting used to each other, still working out boundaries, and the way they did that was to push against them. They were always prodding at each other's soft underbellies. Right now she needed to regain her boundaries, to put space between them so that she could think clearly. It was early and she was cranky, soon she would have cramps and she wanted to think of a good way to apologize before the pain turned her brain to 'freak out' mode. Kurama's hand closed over the door knob before she could reach it, but he didn't turn it, he held it closed.

"Will you move please?" she asked with her back to him.

"Gwen, please tell me you don't really feel that way." His voice was so quiet behind her. She felt so embarrassed and so closed in at the moment.

"Of course I don't," she muttered.

"Then why would you say it?"

"Why would you say stuff just to upset me?" she snapped, spinning around. Her flashing eyes fixed on his face and he blinked at her as he tried to maintain a perfectly calm demeanor.

"What did I say that upset you Gwen? Was it the comment about Brandon?"

"Well, that too, but Jeeze, how can you not know what you said?"

"Maybe you should tell me so that I would know for certain and not have to play a guessing game with you."

"Or maybe you could spend two seconds to think about it instead of being lazy."

"You're being intentionally difficult!" His calm façade broke as he snapped at her.

"You're an insensitive jerk!"

"Hmph." "Argh." With mutual sounds of dissatisfaction they turned away from each other. Gwen let out an extra little huff of annoyance as she realized that she was now facing the door and less than two feet away from it with no room to maneuver. Kurama was still standing in same spot, only with his back to her. He smacked himself mentally for being so childish, he never behaved this way. He never let himself behave this way. Of course he teased the others, but he was normally more subtle, and he didn't have to worry that Yusuke would start shrieking at him or that Kuwabara would lash out at him with verbal violence. They were also less able to rile him for some reason. He pushed that thought aside. He had to apologize to her for acting this way, for not maintaining his standards of behavior in her presence. Kurama began to turn around but Gwen lunged past him, one hand on her stomach.

"Oh my God, where's my Midol?!" she cried as she rushed to her bed and dragged the first aid tub from under it. "Where are my pills that make everything all right?"

"Gwen?" he asked in concern as she began throwing things across the floor in search of that one bottle.

"Shut up or help me look!"

"You left them on your desk." She spun around as she heard the bottle rattle in his hand. To his surprise, she got to her feet slowly and stalked towards him. It would have been amusing if it was not, at the same time, very scary. "Hand 'em over and no one gets hurt," she said in a deadly serious tone.

He held out the bottle mutely and she pounced on it, snatching it from his hand and twisting the cap open. He watched as she began shaking the little round pills out onto her hand. And then she swallowed them, dry.

"Gwen. Do you think you should do that?" He took half a step forward but stopped when he saw that same half-crazed expression on her face.

"Leave me alone if you know what's good for you," she snapped as she pulled a drink out from the refrigerator and began chugging it. She glanced at the clock and sighed. "Twenty minutes at least."

"Do you have a drug problem?" He was only half joking at this point, it had been almost desperate the way she took the medicine.

"No, I have a problem called my uterus lining has decided to rip itself apart while inside me. And I happen to be one of the unlucky girls who end up curled in a fetal position, cursing life and existence if they don't get some kind of relief."

"Is it really that bad?" His expression was neutral once more but the slightly higher questioning tone than was necessary and a flicker in his eye told her he was skeptical, but still wary of her.

"It can be. Now stop talking about stuff that's supposed to send guys running for the hills, we've got class to go to," she said as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and picked up her keys.

"As you wish."

Gwen stopped in her tracks, the door still swinging open under her hand. She spun around and pointed an accusing finger at him while he smiled politely back at her. Her reaction to that phrase really was _too_ entertaining.

"Do you even know what that's from?!"

"Whatever do you mean Gwen?"

"Alright, now you're in for it, we're having a movie night. Princess Bride first and then anything else that will keep you from making faux pas like that again."

"A faux pas?"

"Kurama, you say 'as you wish' to anyone else and you're asking to get glomped."

"What?" He hurried after her as she walked out the door. 'Glomped?' As in, jumped on by a raving fangirl? But he hadn't encountered any fangirls here, and none of the girls who he had caught looking him over looked like they were the kind to jump a guy.

"I'm just saying, that phrase means 'take me I'm yours.'"

"What?!"

He couldn't keep his voice quite at it's normal pitch, in spite of the fact that he tried. That was unsettling, but he filed it away to think about later, this was something he should probably address first. Had that really been what he was unintentionally implying when he said 'as you wish' to Gwen? No wonder she had reacted so strangely, but at least she hadn't glomped him. She glanced back at him over her shoulder, a wicked little smile narrowing her bright eyes with mirth.

"Try it out on Bev if you don't believe me, since you like her anyway it's okay right?"

He made a mental note to never again string those three words together.

* * *

That evening she found someone on her hall that had the Princess Bride. Then she told everyone within hearing that he had never seen it and that they were going to watch it. Some twenty minutes later Kurama found himself squeezed between Gwen and a girl he had met two minutes before on the futon with one more of her hallmates on the end. Shelly was there too with the girl Ashley, one on the floor and the other in a desk chair. They were passing around popcorn and talking about how many times they had watched the movie in high school as the beginning came on. The girls quieted down quickly, but would giggle randomly and he couldn't help watching their rapt faces about as frequently as he watched the actual movie. He reminded himself never to say 'as you wish' ever again as Gwen repeatedly elbowed him in the ribs and snickered. 

Saturday was time for further 'American Enculturation' as Gwen was terming it. She took him to a football game. Kurama had no idea the little human had such a pair of lungs in her, and though he had heard her curse before, he had no idea she could get so creative with her expletives. The other girls were just as bad, or worse, and the guys in war paint were a sight to see. It wasn't until the entire student section began heckling the referee that he actually got into the mood himself a bit. He wasn't about to stoop to shouting and stamping his feet like the spectators from the dark tournament (or the students around him), but it was at least amusing.

"And now they switch to special teams to punt the football!" Gwen screamed her explanation over the rumbling in the stands. "And then the pansies on the other side, I mean, the other team, try an' run it back!"

Kurama nodded to show he understood and pointed his head in the direction of the game, but he was really watching the crowd. There was bloodlust in the air, he could smell it, feel it. Even though they were humans, even though this was only a game, and the players all had padded equipment, the spectators wanted to see somebody crushed. They wanted a battle on the field and blood to show for it. He wondered if Koenma thought of these things while he was valuing human life more precious than demon. He thought of the stories of ancient Rome and wondered if there was such a huge gap as both sides were so intent on elucidating. There probably was, but at the moment, with the young men and women around him shaking their fists, stamping their feet and chanting "Bullshit!" the gap seemed ever so slightly smaller.

* * *

"Hey." 

Kurama glanced around to find the source of the sound. He wasn't finding the TV all that appealing anyway. In the doorway to the lounge stood one of the guys from the adjacent hall. He was slightly shorter than Kurama and a bit stocky, but it looked like muscle mostly. His hair was so short that it was almost buzzed.

"Hello," Kurama replied carefully. 'The boys' as Gwen derisively referred to them, had not really harassed him again, but they weren't particularly friendly either. He was wary of this one approaching him now.

"Jeff," the stocky one said by way of introduction as he walked forward.

"Kurama," the kitsune offered and took Jeff's extended hand.

"You're watching shit you know," he said as he walked around and dropped onto the other couch. Kurama watched as Jeff put his feet up on the arm rest and draped one arm over the back of the couch.

"Yes, well most American TV seems to be this way."

Jeff let out a laugh and looked at him. "Hey, you ever get your clothes back?"

"No," Kurama replied, more guarded immediately.

But the human only laughed. "I would have come back and decked those bastards. It was funny as hell though, 'specially when you're little girlfriend came running out. She's some piece of work." He laughed again and shook his head at Kurama.

"You weren't in the hallway when we were out there."

"Nah, but you guys were all standing in front of my room. So if you're not watching this shit can we change the channel?"

"Of course. What do you want to see?"

"I dunno." He pushed himself to his feet and shuffled over to the TV suspended from the ceiling at the end of the room. "Nothing good's ever on Saturday night. Might as well watch a movie half the time."

"I'm afraid I've had more than my share of movies the past few nights," Kurama said quietly with an uneasy glance towards the open door. Gwen was in the shower; at least, he hopes she still was.

"Why's that?"

"Gwen decided I needed to understand your culture better, and the girls on her hall keep coming up with more 'classics' that I **must** watch."

"Oh, not the chick flicks! My girlfriend always drags me to the sappiest crap."

"Well, first it was one called Princess Bride, then there were Monty Python, Breakfast Club, When Harry Met Sally, and Chicago."

Jeff winced slightly as he continued to flip through the channels. "They made you watch Breakfast Club? That's rough, but at least it wasn't A Walk to Remember. I had to see that on a date once."

"Yes, Gwen refused that one when Shelly suggested it."

"So what's it like living with girls?" Jeff settled on history channel and dropped back onto the couch.

"It at least smells better than many of male dorms I have been into. It can be more than a little awkward at times."

"So, why are you living with your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Kurama sighed, knowing this would be a disputed point. But Jeff didn't seem like he wanted to dispute it, instead he gave Kurama an impressed look and nodded thoughtfully.

"Nice. Where does the girlfriend think you are?"

"It's not like that," the red-head said quickly. "I became stranded in this country after my passport was stolen and Gwen offered me a place to stay until the bureaucratic mess is straightened out. It has taken longer than I expected but the girls are very understanding."

"Oh, wow man, that sucks some serious—"

"Yo." They both looked around as another guy came into the room. "I'm bored as hell, who's up for a game?"

"Hey Kyle, this is Kurama, the one living with the girls," Jeff waved his hand from one to the other and they nodded at each other. "What were you thinking of?"

"Well, we've got the xbox."

* * *

"Hey." Gwen poked her head into the lounge to find Kurama playing Halo with two of the guys from the next hall. 'Oh yay, he's making nice with the boys.' Kurama looked around and smiled at her before returning his attention to the game. "I was gonna head over to Diana and Christine's." 

"Wha—" Kurama glanced around at her again and a guilty smile flickered on her face.

"You don't have to come. Stay here and play!" she said quickly as he made a move to get up. "I know you don't like the whole big group of strangers thing. I might be a while though. Shelly's going with me, but I'll leave the door unlocked."

"Be safe," he said as he jammed the buttons quickly. "Don't drink anything they offer you."

"Hai, kaa-san!" she said, snapping to attention as he looked around at her again. "Hey, I know three words, you should be proud of me for looking that up."

"That was only two."

"Baka."

"Ah. Have a nice time Gwen."

"You too, bye guys." His two companions grunted and they all went back to focusing on the game.

* * *

Kurama was practically pacing the room in his pajamas at 2 AM. Normally he wasn't one to pace, but neither of the girls had come back yet, even though a big group had come in around one. That's when he had ended his game with the other guys, over three hours of video games was enough for one night. He wasn't worried, just annoyed. He couldn't go to sleep until they came back. He had to leave the room when they changed, and he wouldn't turn the lights off and go to sleep knowing they would come in and need them on. 

'Oh screw it,' he thought in annoyance. He was standing in front of Shelly's desk fingering the leaf of one of her plants, listening for any sound of footsteps in the hall. This was not like him; it was beneath his dignity to stand around waiting up for these human girls. He turned on Gwen's desk light and lay down on the futon.

"Shhhh!" Kurama stayed perfectly still as the door open and two people tripped into the room. "Aw he's asleep." They both burst into hushed giggles as the door closed again and the girls moved around in the half-light.

"I don't know, sometimes I doubt he even actually sleeps." That was Gwen's voice hovering over him. He kept his breathing slow and shallow, mimicking sleep perfectly. "I guess the guys actually wore him out."

"Shh, you're right next to him talking." Shelly reprimanded Gwen and there was the sound of fabric smacking fabric.

"Ew, don't throw your shirt at me!"

More giggles. He couldn't tell if they were intoxicated or merely slightly more giggly than normal. He could smell alcohol faintly, but then they had been in a room whose air was saturated with it for several hours. There were the sounds of dresser drawers opening and closing and things being tossed on the floor. He tried not to think about the fact that they were both changing right there, behind him, but it was hard to ignore as his sensitive ears caught the sounds of clothes hitting the floor.

Shelly yawned loudly before he heard the bed shifting slightly as she climbed up to her bunk. She burrowed into her sheets and turned her back to the room. Gwen meanwhile ran out to brush her teeth. When she came back she snapped the light off and Kurama could hear her taking careful steps across the floor. She paused beside the futon and his mind quickly flicked through the past few minutes, trying to think of something he had done that might have given him away, but he could think of nothing. She leaned over him.

"_I know you're awake_," Gwen whispered against his ear, her warm breath tickling his skin. He opened one eye to see just the top of her head. She moved slightly and he caught her little smirk and raised eyebrow. Before ge could react she moved out of his line of sight and he heard the springs of her bed groan as they took her weight. That girl was something else.

* * *

:D!! Love and brownies to all my readers! This is so fluffy I might be driven to so something serious soon...but then I have always liked fluffy things. yay for stuffed animals 


	18. They Told Her

18 We Told Her

* * *

I updated quickly cuz I foresee insanity ahead, we'll see how it goes. I applied to study abroad next fall and hopefully I'll get it. I might be in China by September!! And I'm also trying to do labwork for one of my professors, to help him out and so that I get experience, we'll see how that goes...

* * *

'Wednesday night. Three weeks,' Kurama told himself as he sat in the lounge watching yet another movie with Gwen. This time though he wasn't surrounded by females, their group was mixed and they were having a James Bond marathon. Between the people they knew on both halls they had the entire set of movies, but not enough time to watch them all. Gwen was sitting next to him on the couch, one of her textbooks in her lap as she glanced from it to the screen every few seconds. She wasn't getting much work done, but she wouldn't leave and he caught more than one little sigh as she gazed at whatever actor was currently portraying the 'super-spy.' 

He was getting more uneasy as the days passed. It had been over a week and a half since Koenma had last contacted him to say that their first attempt at a portal was a failure and they had to completely rework their strategy for getting him home. 'Home.' How many had he had over the years? His human world was just one in a long series, one he had promised to make permanent. He was a traitor wasn't he? Settling in so nicely here and making friends, that's what he was doing after all, while everyone else was working to get him back. This place was bad for him. It clouded his thinking, slowed his normally sharp mind, and made him complacent. It was like there was something softly cloying in atmosphere that slowed his movements, or like strongly perfumed incense, seeping under his skin and making him drowsy while it was corrupting him from the inside.

He shifted uncomfortably and Gwen glanced at him. She was too good at reading him. 'That's disturbing, not comforting,' he reminded himself as he fixed his unfocused eyes on the TV a bit more firmly. She scooted closer and his muscles tensed imperceptibly. Hopefully she wasn't going to try and snuggle or something while men were being beaten unconscious on the screen.

"If you want to go somewhere I can give you my keycard so you can get back in," she whispered as she flipped to the next page in her book. Yes, far too good at reading him.

"You and Shelly are out here, but I was consider—"

"Just come out and say it," she laughed slightly but didn't reach out to pat his arm like the others now did.

"Do you mind if I read in your room?"

"Go ahead kitsune."

"I'm also unbookmarking your Japanese-English dictionary."

"Then I'll just get a real one, and we'll see you unbookmark that." He chuckled slightly and pushed himself from the couch. Gwen scooted back to her original position as someone else took his place and he left the room.

* * *

His communicator went off and Kurama jumped. He'd been laying down on the futon, reading one of his library books when the thing went off in his pocket. He set the book down calmly and drew out the small compact. 

"Hello Yusuke," he said with a small smile. "I certainly wasn't expecting you."

"Yeah, well you know the ol'toddler, always delegating the crap he doesn't want to do."

"Is it more bad news?" the redhead asked keeping the smile on his face and friendly tone in his voice. The young man on the other side shifted back and forth on the screen, dropping his eyes and then glancing from side to side. "Yusuke, you had better tell me," Kurama continued in that pleasant tone.

"Listen, you'd better not try and kill me when you get back is all I have to say."

"And why would I do that, since you seem to be implying that I will be coming back?"

"Of course you will!" Yusuke exclaimed. "You're just not gonna be happy about it…" he trailed off and looked to someone off to his side for support. Kurama caught Kuwabara's voice in the background shouting "Tell him already! Damnit, you said you'd do it!" "Alrigh, alright," Yusuke said slowly. "Are you sitting down, man?"

"Yes, though I do not see why that would make a difference."

"Look man, you disappeared all of a sudden, you've been gone three weeks," Yusuke took a deep breath before continuing. "Your mom called me…" He trailed off again and the communicator was snatched from his hand.

By this point a cold, hard feeling had settled into Kurama's stomach. He had been uneasy from the first but if Yusuke was talking about his mother….He shook himself from those thoughts and forced himself to listen. Maybe it wasn't what he was expected, he did have a tendency to expect the worst possible outcome.

"Hey man," Kuwabara said as his face came into view. "Look, we couldn't leave her hanging, she was so upset and there's only so many times we can say you're in the bathroom when she calls. She didn't believe that you suddenly went on some spiritual trip to Tibet either, so we talked to Koenma," Kuwabara paused and his eyes dropped as well. Kurama felt the bottom dropping out of his stomach. It was like suddenly finding yourself on a rollercoaster when all you'd wanted was the line for the cotton candy. "We had to tell her something, so we told her the truth—kind of."

Kurama didn't even realize that he had gotten to his feet; he didn't realize that his hand had dropped limply to his side and Kuwabara's face had disappeared from view. His mother _knew_. _They had told her_. She knew that he was a liar, a fake, not her real son, undeserving of life, undeserving of her.

"Kurama? Kurama!" That was Kuwabara's voice shouting at him from so far away, joined in by Yusuke's. "KURAMA!"

"Kurama?" Gwen had come in, but he didn't notice that either as he stood there with his unfocused eyes playing through his version of the event in his mind. "Kurama are you okay?" A flicker of his consciousness noticed her edging towards him, but he didn't care, he didn't pay her any attention. She threw her arms around his waist and squeezed.

"What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong." Her voice was desperate, almost as desperate and alone as he felt at the moment.

"They told my mother," he said in a dead voice, his eyes still unfocused as the communicator continued to shout from the limp hand at his side.

"What exactly did they tell her? What did she say? Don't freak out yet! You don't know what happened!"

He wondered vaguely how she knew they hadn't told him all the details. It wasn't like he needed them; he could fill it all in for himself. She reached for the communicator in his hand and he instinctively pulled it out of her reach. Yusuke and Kuwabara had quieted down a bit, perhaps because they had heard her voice addressing him.

"Kurama, give it to me, or at least listen to them yourself. Can't you hear them calling your name?"

"Gwen, be quiet," he snapped at her as he contemplated just closing the communicator, and then smashing it against the wall.

"No!" she yelled at him, grabbing the front of his shirt. "I will not be quiet in my own goddamn dorm room, and I will not be told to by some overdramatic little momma's boy!"

He snarled at her and made a move to push her aside. If that's how she felt he would leave, he would smash the cursed thing outside and just walk away. There was nothing left in the human world now, the only reason he had stayed was his mother, and now she knew. Gwen grabbed a fistful of his hair with one hand and the back of his neck with the other, and pulled him down to her level. If she meant to try and keep him there it would take more than pulling his hair, he thought as he prepared to push her away. Then she pressed her lips against his, hard, jamming them together. It was not a loving gesture like his mother's pecks, it was angry, frustrated. It was an action that shocked his mind into something of a reboot. She pulled back from him, but wasn't about to relax her grip on his hair.

"Do I have your attention now?" Her voice was hard. It had that same hysterical edge to it as when he had first heard her speak. That fear—for him. "You're not leaving, not like this."

"And you're going to stop me Gwen?"

"Any way I have to," she growled. "Now fucking listen to what your friends are trying to tell you, you selfish prick. You are not the most injured, unhappiest creature in the world you know."

Score another direct hit for Gwen. He wasn't the worst off if you counted these things objectively, but he wasn't in the mood for her comparative suffering games either. He didn't want to hurt her and he would have trouble detaching her otherwise, so he forced his tense body to relax somewhat and held the communicator up so he could see it again. She released her hold on his neck so that he could stand up straight but she didn't let go of his hair.

"Oh thank god," Kuwabara exclaimed as he saw his friend's face once more. "Man you scare the shit out of me sometimes. Now listen." Kurama rolled his eyes, why did he need to listen? He already knew what was coming. "We had to explain to your mom about spirit world and Koenma, we explained how Yusuke was the spirit detective and how you, Hiei and me backed him up. At first she didn't believe us," there was a derisive snort from Yusuke in the background, "but then I showed her my spirit sword—"

"You what?!"

"She wouldn't believe us!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "She thought it was a really sick joke. But anyway, we told her about spiritually strong humans, and pretty much implied that that's what you were. We glossed over demons as much as we could and the whole, frequently cheating death thing we all do, or as Urameshi does, meeting death then deciding to come back instead." He chuckled but this quip was lost on the dead-eyed kitsune. "But we told her what happened and how we're trying to get you back. She was really upset."

"That you were stuck in another dimension!" Yusuke yelled and the corner of Kurama's mouth twitched as the shorter boy knocked the taller one flat. "You can't just stop there or he'll think she was upset at him! She was miffed o'course," Yusuke said as he took the communicator and continued the conversation. "But she really wants you back safe."

"She does?" Kurama asked. He couldn't quite believe that, but nothing in either boy's demeanor had shown them to be lying. "Only because she does not know the full truth then."

"Well when you get your ass back here you can tell her the full truth yourself fox-boy, that part's up to you. So, can we see the chick?"

"What?" Kurama asked, stunned by the sudden shift of topic.

"We wanna see the chick you shacked up with," Yusuke said with a breezy grin. "She's gotta be some kind of babe for you to have stuck with her for this long."

"I assure you she is a normal girl down to her appearance Yusuke, and no, you cannot see her."

"Aw, why not?"

"Yusuke, I'm not in the mood right now. If you don't mind, I need some time to think over what you have told me." His eyes shifted to the girl standing before him, still staring into his face as she maintained her death grip on his locks. Her sharp nails were dangerously close to his face. He switched to English to address her. "Gwen, do you think you could give me some breathing room?" She relaxed her grip slowly and stepped back from him, still watching him carefully. Yusuke's voice brought his attention back to the communicator.

"Hey Kurama, you know you think too much. Try and relax, everything's gonna be fine. So how's it going over there, had any good fights? Koenma said there might not be any other demons in that world."

"I have yet to sense any," Kurama replied. "I will talk to you later Yusuke, maybe you could try back tomorrow afternoon?" And without waiting for a reply he snapped the compact shut and tossed it onto the futon.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Gwen asked slowly as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Not particularly. Gwen, you don't know what it's like to lie to your loved ones about something so serious."

"I lied to my sister. I told her there were no such things as monsters while you were in the hallway eavesdropping!"

His eyes widened slightly as she pointed at him, almost poked him in the chest, but stopped just short. "You were comforting her." It was the only thing he could say while he processed the half-accusation.

"And what do you do?"

"But it's different!"

"How? I've done something terrible. Not only did I lie to my family, I let a killer, an inhuman monster into my house! I let you in!" He blinked at her as she shouted in his face. "And goddamnit I'd do it again, I won't feel guilty. Unless you go crazy and start killing people, that is. Survival is an instinct, it's what life does, it survives wherever and however it can. You're blaming yourself for trying to live?"

"I'm blaming myself for the deception that has lasted these past twenty years, for lying to and tricking the woman who loves me as her son."

"You are her son." Seeing that he was about to protest again she held up a hand to stop him. "People adopt kids all the time, they're not biologically theirs, but they're their children! It's all about how the people involved see the relationship."

"You would do it again?" he asked her, in part to distract her and in part because he still could not completely fathom the reasoning behind her actions.

"In a heartbeat."

"Even knowing what I am?"

"Knowing or not," she said with a smile. "Hell I didn't even recognize you at first. I just saw all the blood and freaked out."

"But all you've had to go through—"

"What are you talking about? You're fun to have around. I wouldn't trade it even if it means I'm murdered by Shelly twenty minutes after you leave. And even if I was really put out I still would let you stay."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

She shrugged and smiled at him as if he was being silly and the question had no purpose. 'Why not?' She said it so casually, as if it made sense to him. But it wasn't casual at all, she was a human, she knew what he was capable of and she saw no problem sheltering him. She was willing to lie to her family for a stranger and a monster. No, this world made no sense. He dropped to the futon and leaned his head in his hands, massaging his temples. Maybe she wouldn't turn on him, maybe things would be okay with his mother. This girl was accepting of him and he was a stranger, but then of course he had not spent two decades lying to her.

"Gwen," he said slowly, "while I understand you are trying to help I'm not sure it is very effective."

She sat down on the couch beside him and placed a light hand on his shoulder. "I can't help you, I can only support you. You have to decide to help yourself deal with this."

He looked up at the sad smile on her face. If she couldn't help him, what did she call the way she was trying to talk him into a calmer state of mind? Of course she probably looked at it differently, it was an American thing to say that in the end everything came down to the individual, their actions, their feelings, and completely neglect the effect loved ones and friends had.

"If you want to talk I'm here," she said quietly, rubbing his back as she smiled at him. "And if you don't want to talk I'm still here, but if you want me to leave I'm afraid you're out of luck since this is my room."

He allowed himself a chuckle and leaned his head against her shoulder. What would Yusuke and Kuwabara say if they could see him now? They would certainly be laughing at him. Upset over his human mother finding out half of his secret, upset enough to be sitting here with this human girl as she rubbed his back and made soft noises in her throat. It was ironic really, the way the women in their lives discovered their secrets. A slip of the mouth on Botan's part had informed Atsuko and Keiko what Yusuke was really doing, Shizuru had found out by walking in on a movie at an inopportune moment only to find Koenma on the screen talking about rescue. And finally his mother had found out because he had disappeared and his two friends couldn't think of a convincing lie between them. He wondered if this then meant that Yukina was destined to find out about Hiei as well, or if somehow the fire demon would continue to skate by.

He let out a long breath and sat up. Gwen dropped her hand immediately and looked at him carefully. "I think I will go and take a walk now."

Silently she drew her keycard from her pocket and handed it to him. He smiled faintly and took it as he stood. She continued to watch him, not in a predatory manner, nor like the others who would watch him from the corner of their eye when they were concerned. She just looked at him with a small frown of concern.

"I'll be back before it gets too late," he said quietly and slipped from the room.

Seconds after he had left Shelly came in, her books pressed to her chest. Gwen was still sitting on the futon, staring off into space with that little frown.

"Is everything okay? I heard you shouting from the lounge."

"Yeah, he just got some bad news and I had to yell some sense into him. For a quiet guy he can get kind of emotional."

"Emotional good, or emotional bad?"

"Emotional angsty, which would be bad." Gwen fixed her eyes on her roommate as the other girl walked across the room and settled into her desk chair.

"He's not a cutter is he?" she laughed but stopped when she saw the narrowed eyes and pursed lips. "Uh, we don't have to hide the razors do we? I never thought of him as emo."

"No," Gwen sneered. "But you really shouldn't joke like that when someone's freaking out."

"He's not here to hear us," Shelly shot back. "What was the bad news anyway?"

"Family problems."

"Oh." She paused and shifted a few things around on her desk before turning back to her roommate. "So what's got you so worked up? I mean, you're getting defensive over a guy who's not even your boyfriend."

"But he's a friend Shelly."

"Yeah." Shelly gave her a strange look and Gwen frowned. "But I think you don't just see it that way."

"I told you it wasn't like that!" Gwen exclaimed.

"Oh come on Gwen. Whenever he's around you're practically dancing around him like a little puppy. You want it to turn into something more."

"I do not dance!" the brunette said indignantly as she crossed her arms. "Anyway, I know better. Even if we did develop feelings like that, and I can tell you he won't, even then it wouldn't work out."

"Why not?"

Gwen quirked an eyebrow like her friend was a few nickels short of a dollar. "One of us would have to leave our home for the other, and while it sounds romantic and all, it's a huge sacrifice to ask someone to make and I couldn't do that, ask him to leave his family. And I don't think I could leave all of you, learn a new language, culture and start all over. So it's not possible."

"What if he likes it here more than Japan?"

"He's too good, he's obligated to go home. So it's not happening Shelly."


	19. Who's Adonis?

19

* * *

There was some angst in the last chapter. I'm sorry, it's not over. At this point I am grinning rather evilly, I must admit. The story started off with angst; it's no coincidence I picked Evanescence's _Tourniquet_ as the song Gwen was singing at the beginning. I'm not going to overload it with angst, God knows there are enough stories that do that already around here. And no, I don't actually think of Kurama as emo, I just think he has issues like everybody else in yyh. And yes, I like to get all my plot in in big doses so that it leaves more room for the fluff.

This chapter took so long in part cuz I ave no time, and in part cuz I rewrote parts of it several times in hopes of avoiding the dreded ooc-ness, I hope I was successful.

* * *

The next day Kurama went to the library instead of class with Gwen. She was worried about him, he was even quieter than normal, but she knew there was nothing she could do to change things. She hoped that Yusuke would call him on the communicator again and that he would be able to do something for his friend. After class and lunch with her friends she headed over to the library. She had promised to drag him out of there if he tried to move in with the books but even that had not been enough to pry an indulgent smile and chuckle from him. It was worrying her. 

She tiptoed around the building, glancing over tables and poking her head around stacks of books in search of the reclusive redhead. When at last she found him she walked right past him and turned down the adjacent aisle. Her eyes scanned the titles lined up neatly in rows and she bit her lip as she reached the end and paused. 'Why's he in the psych section?' She turned around and grabbed a random book from the shelf. As she cracked it open her thoughts shifted back to the young man in the next aisle. 'Psych books, why's he looking at psych books? What, no who's he tryin' to understand?' She licked her lips and her eyes darted to the side as she thought she heard a movement to her left. It was just someone passing by and she breathed again. 'Trying to understand people's motivations…trying to predict their actions and reactions. I bet he wants to figure out how his mom will react when he gets back.'

She snapped the book shut and slid it back onto the shelf. Taking a deep breath she stepped out of the aisle and stopped in front of the one Kurama was sitting in. "I'll be reading over by the atlases," she said and prepared to walk away.

"Why the atlases?" He didn't even bother looking up at her, and it appeared that he was actually still reading.

"It's quiet and it's got the comfiest couch." And she walked away.

* * *

It was over an hour later when the kitsune had triaged the stack of books he had pulled from the shelf and decided he had better tell the girl that he planned on staying for several more hours. Otherwise, he knew, she would stay as well, calmly waiting until she got annoyed and came over to pester him. He wandered through the atlases and found the two couches facing each other across a coffee table that was littered with Gwen's school books. The girl herself was comatose on the left-hand side, curled up with one arm covering her face.

'Like a cat,' he thought with some amusement, but it was damped by his mood. He walked up behind the couch and leaned over to poke her in the ribs. He was expecting her to jump, or roll right off the couch, not to swat lazily at him and grunt.

"Gwen, wake up," he said, shaking her arm slightly.

Her eyes opened slowly and narrowed as she tried to focus on his face. "Hello Adonis," she said with a sleepy smile before her eyes sunk closed again.

He leaned further over the back of the couch to prod her again but she merely swatted at him and turned over.

"Gwen? Gwen, who's Adonis?" She grunted and swatted again. "Gwen, are you cheating on me?"

"Wha—?" She opened her eyes and rolled onto her back to stare up at him. "Whatreyehtalkinbout?" she muttered as she rubbed her eyes. "I was nappin.'"

"Yes, I saw you. Who's Adonis?"

"What? I never said anything about Adonis," she murmured.

"Yes you did; a few seconds ago you called me 'Adonis.'"

"Ah shut up," she said and rolled over again.

He paused for a moment to consider his next move. It seemed like she was intent on staying in her current position, she got like that when she was sleepy, and it could be hard to move her. Of course his purpose there was not to move her, but to tell her that he would not be moving. Though, from her somnambulant state it seemed like she had already accepted this fact and chosen to deal with it in her own way. But now he was distracted from his original purpose by her statement. She knew it bothered him when she made cultural references he didn't understand and that she wouldn't explain. He could never come out and admit such a thing and she enjoyed his quietly fuming aggravation too much to trade her chances to bait him for the slightly lesser pleasure of openly teasing him about his lack of cultural knowledge. Where could he turn in such a situation without embarrassing himself by asking for assistance from a living person? The answer of course, was the internet.

"Gwen, I'll be down in the computer lab," he said, hoping to get a last rise out of her before leaving. She didn't move and he chuckled to himself. Later he would be the one quietly prodding her and she would get flustered and pink and tell him to shut up.

She sat straight up and looked at him, her bleary eyes focusing suddenly. "What _was_ that laugh?"

"Whatever are you talking about Gwen?"

"That, that evil laugh you just did. You're planning something."

"I was merely going to go down to the computer lab."

"No way!" she exclaimed, popping up and sweeping her things into her backpack. "You're either going back to your books and psychoanalyzing your mom, or you're coming back to the dorm with me."

He watched her with some amusement as she shook everything into the bag and zipped it up. She was obviously flustered and still sleepy and he thought she probably had no idea what he wanted to look up. "Do you think you are in a position to stop me from doing as I please Gwen?"

"I'm pulling rank on you," she said, turning on him and shaking a finger. "You hear me? And I'm changing the password on my computer. God knows, you're looking up how to build nuclear weapons or something," she said as she walked past him, obviously expecting him to follow her.

"It's cute you think that changing your password will keep me out of your computer."

Her head whipped around and he saw a faint pink tinge come to her cheeks as she glared at him. "Shut up. I bet I can come with a password you can't figure out."

"Oh really? Perhaps you lack a full understanding of my skills set."

"Hm, no, I think I've got a good idea there," she said and walked away.

* * *

Of course he followed her, he had no choice in the matter. They stopped so she could check out books for him, but she avoided talking to him and kept her nose in the air, shooting him little sideways glances when she thought he wasn't looking. Back at the dorm Kurama picked up her laptop and handed it to the girl. She made a haughty little noise and left the room, computer in hand. A few minutes later she came back in, an evil smile gracing her face as she handed the electronic device to him.

"Have fun."

"You are much too confident Gwen, my profession was as a code breaker."

"It's not about breaking codes Kurama, it's about getting in my head. You could sit here and try every single combination of letters and numbers possible from one to twenty long, but that would take more years than you've been a human."

She picked up a book and flopped on her bed to finish reading while he took a seat on the couch and opened the computer. He tried the first things that came to mind, and things he knew Gwen used as other passwords, none of them worked. Two hours later he had a pad of paper and a pen and was taking notes as he tried more variations and more complex combinations.

"Yo, I need to check my email," Gwen declared pulling the computer from his grasp.

"But Gwen-"

She stuck out her tongue and held it out of his reach. "Why don't you just keep writing things down like a good little boy and then try them when I'm done?"

She dropped back onto her bed and he watched as she entered the password. He counted eleven clicks and saw her fingers hovering around the same area of the keyboard. 'Eleven,' he thought quickly and began crossing things out on his notepad. How many English words did he know that were eleven letters long, he wondered. And how many combinations of short words came out to that length? After she finished she dutifully handed him back the computer, a smirk lingering on her lips even as she tried to keep her face straight.

By the time Gwen jabbed him with a spatula it was dinner time and he had not yet figured out the human's password. He had tried all of the expressions she normally used, and everything he thought she would choose as a password, including all the American curses and swears he could think of, in every combination possible. He had even tried the few Japanese words she knew, but to no avail.

"Come on lazy butt, dinner time."

"Gwen what on earth did you put as your password?" he asked as they walked into the kitchen.

She grinned at him but managed to restrain her laughter. "Now that's cheating. Did you look at the hint?"

"The hint?" he asked as he sat down opposite her and pulled over his plate. Gwen was not a bad cook and he had almost adjusted to American food so diner was normally a pleasant meal, more so than the rushed breakfasts or fend-for-yourself lunches.

"Yeah, next to where you put the password in is the button to get the hint, it's to help remind people who forget what their passwords are."

"Ah, and so you've put in some witty comment to assist me?"

"Nope," she said with a grin, her fork pausing in midair. "I put something that will help me remember if I forget." And with that she took a bite and smiled broadly.

So after dinner he retrieved the laptop and tried the 'hint' button, just to see what Gwen thought was so clever that it would remind her but not him.

_'nyah nyah nyah, you won't get it _:P' appeared on the screen.

She was sitting next to him on the couch, leaning towards the opposite side with her feet curled up beside her. One of the books he had checked out of the library was in her hands and she was flipping through it, completely oblivious to everything around them. He reached out and grabbed her arm before hauling her over.

"Gwen, what is your password?" he said quietly, it wasn't intentionally threatening, that just seemed to be the way she took it.

"Bite me!" she snapped back at him, the book forgotten as she tugged at his fingers.

"I might just have to if you won't tell me," he said in a more normal voice, but with a lopsided smile.

"Damnit, that is my password!" she exclaimed

"Not long enough."

She let out a huff and rolled her eyes. "This is cheating you know." When she saw that he was still waiting for her to speak she rolled her eyes again. "It's 'bite me, bitch'."

He couldn't help chuckling at that. It was the right number of letters, and would be something she would say. _Bite me, bitch_. It was also something he hadn't thought of and he couldn't help being impressed by the little human's quixotic tendencies. He typed it in with his right hand and hit enter. Once again the computer told him he was wrong.

_"Gwen."_

"Well I didn't use just letters," she sneered, talking to him as if he was stupid, he, Kurama, stupid.

"Could you perhaps inform me how exactly you render that phrase then?"

"8-i-7-3-m-3-8-i-7-c-h." Yes, now that he tried it that was her password. Quixotic indeed. He let go of her and pulled up the internet to look up 'Adonis,' whoever that was.

* * *

"Gwen," he said a few minutes later and was rewarded by being smacked with his own book. It seemed she was still annoyed that he had given up on the game. "You called me an annually dying vegetation god," he said as he caught the book on its second attack and pulled it from her hands.

"Shut up, I didn't call you anything."

"You called me 'obscenely attractive' once," he laughed.

That was when she jumped on him.

He barely managed to slide the computer to the floor as she hit him full force and knocked him into the arm of the couch. "Shut up! Shut Up, you Arrogant Jerk! Can't you just leave me alone? You're always picking on me!"

She was smacking him on his arms and chest and around his head, and obviously barely restraining herself from screaming. He was too shocked by her sudden outburst to respond, but he caught her arms and held them off. She kept struggling, trying to get free and hit him again as she threw her full bodyweight into trying to push forward. She was certainly providing distraction from the situation with his mother, he thought dryly as she stopped fighting with him. And what an awkward position they were in now. He was slumped down on the couch with his head uncomfortably resting on the metal arm. She was half laying on him, her hands held inches above his face as he worried her knee would be the next body part brought into the action. Then the girl pulled back and he let her go.

As he pushed himself slowly into a sitting position she slumped down on her knees and buried her face in her hands.

"Gwen, what's wrong?"

"I'm a bad person," she said through the hands covering her face. She couldn't face him after that outburst, couldn't even bear to be near him. So she jumped up from the couch and ran from the room, slowing down only to pick up her shoes and keys.

She kept running, out of the dorm and across the quad towards the rest of campus. She stopped briefly when the way got gravelly, to slip on her shoes but then she kept going. Gwen knew she had to get away, had to get herself back under control, and hoped she would have enough time to do that. Kurama wouldn't follow her, not for a while at least. He was not impulsive, he had to analyze the situation first, and hopefully he would not understand it. Living with him was driving her crazy. Most of the time they were fine, chatting and joking around or quietly sitting together, but then there would be a sideways glance and a slight smile and she would want to jump on him. It was horrible and she was trying everything to stop herself from feeling this way: calling herself terrible names, listing every single bad trait of his down to the occasional child killing, reminding herself that he was out of her league, reminding herself of what happened to the last girl she knew of to declare her love for Shuichi Minamino. None of it worked.

She headed into the woods adjoining the campus and went off the trail. She had done it before and had a good sense of direction so she knew she would find her way back just fine. Silently she continued to berate herself. 'And to snap at him _now_, after _yesterday_, what was I thinking? I've stopped thinking! I just have to deal with him mocking me, maybe I can use that to stop liking him…' He knew how she felt, she was certain of it. What did he do with this knowledge? He used it to torment her, to tease her and make her feel even worse about herself. Why in her sleepy state had she ever called him Adonis? The Western paragon of male beauty, there's a direct declaration for you alright.

She stopped and eyed one of the trees before her; it had good-sized branches, a couple of which were within reach from the ground. With a running jump and some scrambling she was up. 'I just need to get myself under control, if I focus my attention on someone else, someone within reach, I'll be okay.'

* * *

It was nearing dark, and so, a good two hours after dinner when he finally came. She'd thought he would have come sooner, or wouldn't come at all, but there he was, walking through the underbrush, a book under his arm as he sniffed slightly.

"Gwen," he said as he looked up and found her in the tree, "come down."

"Not yet, it's sunset and everything's going pink." He was about to say something more when she looked down at him and frowned. "And please, don't go reading psychobabble at me, it won't help."

"I wasn't planning on reading at you."

"Reciting then."

_"Gwen."_

"Shh, sunset." She scooted around and pulled herself into a higher branch. This was the third tree she had climbed and she had positioned herself to get a perfect view of the fiery orb sinking below the trees in a blaze of pinks and oranges with those light blue streaks in the clouds that made her think of cotton candy. A cotton candy sky, unearthly sweet and far too much for any one person.

"Gwen, I was thinking, maybe I should move out," he said slowly as he walked up to the tree and leaned a hand against its trunk. He spotted her flip-flops on the ground and looked up to see her bare feet hanging in the void, they were covered with dirt and sap and scratches.

"I'm not sure you have enough money to pay for food and a hotel if Koenma keeps having problems getting this portal thing to work," she said without looking down at him. Her eyes were fixed on the sky and her voice was floating down to him through the trees. "And you couldn't rent a place, you have no forms of identification, no job, and nobody would let you sign a lease. And finally," she wagged a finger as she shifted her weight slightly. "I am not letting you live in the woods like Hiei."

He had to chuckle at that. In a flash he was up beside her and she stifled a cry as he settled onto the next branch over. He even crossed his legs and leaned familiarly against the tree, looking completely unruffled. Up close he could see that more than her feet were scratched, her legs and arms had undergone the treatment as well, with her hands getting the worst of it. She had even lost a nail or two and her fingers looked gummy with tree sap. His little human, had he caused her all that distress? But she seemed genuinely interested in watching the sky change, so perhaps an equal amount of the blame could lie in her own lap.

It had only been a half-hearted suggestion to leave on his part. He knew they were both against such a move, but he had still been relieved that she had rejected the idea so quickly. He had left the book on the ground by her shoes and at the moment couldn't bring the exact passage he had picked out to mind. So he just sat there and watched the orange sky fade away as the darkness overtook them.

* * *

Oh and there will be slightly more typical actiony action coming soon! Be excited! (or not, if you don't like action...) 


	20. Naughty Nineteen

20

* * *

I love that people identify with Gwen, that's what I really wanted in her character, someone people could actually relate to!! I find so many times, not just in fanfiction, but in anime in general there are quite a few characters where you just can't relate to them at all 

Perhaps it's time for a real disclaimer: lyrics by Cake, I'm not talented enough to do songs or poems. And while I can make up my own characters, playing with other people's is just as fun.

* * *

"I don't want to wonder  
If this is a blunder  
I don't want to worry whether   
We're going to stay together  
'Till we die 

I don't want to jump in  
Unless this music's thumping  
All the dishes rattle in the cupboards  
When the elephants arrive

I want to love you madly  
I want to love you now  
I want to love you madly, way  
I want to love you, love you  
Love you madly

I don't want to fake it  
I just want to make it  
The ornaments look pretty  
But they're pulling down the branches  
Of the Tree

I don't want to think about it  
I don't want to talk about it  
When I kiss your lips  
I want to sink down to the bottom  
Of the sea

I want to love you madly…"

Kurama chuckled in spite of himself as he heard Gwen's voice trilling from the shower. She wasn't the only girl who sang in there and some of her hall mates were far louder, within the range of human hearing, but he found it most amusing to listen to her. It was also usually a good indication of her mood since she only sang when she thought no one could hear her, or she and Shelly were alone in their room. Who she was declaring her lust for at this moment was unclear to him as he thought it equally likely to be himself or one of the several other boys he caught her eyeing. He liked to tell himself that her outbursts at him were due to the strain he caused in her relations with other people, and not due to the tension between them.

The bathroom door opened and a figure in a towel emerged. "EEK! What are you doing there?!" she yelled and the blood rushed to her face.

Kurama, who was leaning against the wall opposite from the door, fixed a very serious look on the girl and stepped forward.

"Gwen, why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

"It's not my birthday!" she exclaimed, going even redder as she clutched the towel to her chest.

"Hm. Would you care to explain then, the large message scrawled across your door saying 'Happy Naughty Nineteen Gwen Finnegan'?"

"Agh! I told them not to do that!" she said and stomped forward to her room where there was indeed a large sign posted. She pushed open the door and was met by a blast of cheering.

"SURRISE!"

"AHHHH!! What are you all doing in there?!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"_Guys!!_ I'm naked here!"

Everyone in the room laughed and she was pulled inside to blow out candles and have pictures taken while she was still sopping wet. Ah the strange customs of human celebrations. Kurama was still adjusting to them, and these were arguably quite stranger than the ones he had left behind at home, but then he was biased by having been raised in that culture. He took the book from under his arm and cracking it open went into the lounge to read.

* * *

"Where were you?!" Gwen exclaimed as she came into the lounge a little less than an hour later. She was dressed now, though Kurama hesitated to consider it strictly appropriate. She was wearing one of her floaty skirts that was much to short if she actually tried to sit down and a top that was far lower cut than he was used to seeing on the girl. She also appeared to be wearing makeup. 

"Where was I?" he repeated slowly, taking in her outfit with a critical eye. "How high are those heels?"

"Three inches," she snapped. "They completely jumped me in there and I was defenseless!"

"It sounded like you all were having fun. Where are you going Gwen?"

"We're going to a gay bar."

He blinked at her then quietly shut his book. "Why exactly?"

"'To dance with guys who actually know how to dance.' Those were Rachel's words, and it was her idea." She smoothed her skirt absently and glanced back towards the door.

"You're going to a gay bar…to dance with men, who, it follows, are almost certainly gay, am I correct?"

"Yes," she waved a hand absently and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Kurama, you remember how Bev said you could stay in her room if Shelly wanted some uh, time without you?"

"Yes," he said slowly, watching her carefully.

"Well, um tonight, Rachel and Diana said they were going to keep me out all night, and um Bev's studying so she's going to be in, and Shelly was thinking she could have Peter over…"

"Ah, of course," he said with a smile. "I will be happy to go over to Bev's if that is still okay with her."

Gwen let out a high-pitched laugh and shook her head. "She's definitely still okay with it. Don't worry though!" she said quickly, spreading her hands. "She's not actually like going to jump you or anything, but since you like her she might be okay with a _distraction_!"

With an embarrassed giggle she turned and ran out of the room before he could respond. He heard her heels clicking down the hall, joined in by two more pairs about mid-way down. They started talking and laughing as they moved off and he was left sitting alone in the lounge with his book on adolescent psychology.

He went over to Bev's room a little later and had to knock on the window to get into the dorm. She showed him into the room before settling back at her desk, sideways on her chair so she could write in the book on her knees and type at the computer on her desk. The room was far pleasanter now that it was not overfull with people or reeking of alcohol, though he could still catch traces of it coming from the carpet and futon.

"So why didn't you go with them?" she asked without even looking up from her work.

"I wasn't invited."

She snorted and gave him an incredulous look. "You live with the girl, it's her birthday, she doesn't have to invite you, if she did you practically be required to go." She rolled her eyes at his blank expression and shook her head. "Jeeze, guys are so slow, you have to spell everything out for them or they have no clue what's going on."

"I would not have been comfortable anyway," Kurama said while refusing to rise to her bait. "I'm surprised to see you working on a Saturday night, Bev."

"I have a test on Monday, that means studying." She waved a hand over her books and sighed. "No fun, no going out, no watching any more movies."

"I hope I won't be a distraction then," he said as he sat down on the futon and set his bag on the floor. "I can leave—"

"You're fine." She answered an im then went back to flipping through her book. Then she shot him a little sideways glance and rolled her shoulder back slightly. "You know I will need a study break later."

For the slightest moment he felt like a deer caught in headlights, but it was imperceptible to the human. He turned a sly smile in her direction and said "Then might I suggest something?"

* * *

The next morning, a few minutes before noon actually, Gwen and Rachel woke up to banging on the door. Kurama frowned from his position on the futon where he had been reading as the girls started in bed and let out sleepy noises. They had been cute passed out together, looking almost innocent. He shrugged slightly and flipped to a different chapter in his book while Rachel rolled out of the bed to yell at whoever had woken them up. 

At the door it was Diana, in boxers, a baggy t-shirt and a hat. "Come on, breakfast," she said waving them out.

"Hey, you woke me up!" Rachel replied. "Let me get changed first." The fox noticed that she was wearing jeans and a wrinkled camisole, apparently the clothes she had gone out in the night before.

"Can I borrow some pants?" Gwen asked from the bed, where she had only turned over at the noise. "I ain't goin' out in this." She pushed herself into a sitting position and caught sight of her male roommate. "Hey, Kurama, you're still here. Where's Bev then?"

"The library. She asked me to make sure that the two of you actually did wake up at some point. And now that you are indeed awake I can go as well." He closed his book and dropped it into his bag before standing.

"Aw, come to breakfast with us," Gwen yawned as she rubbed her face. "Might as well."

"Yeah, and you can hear all about last night," Diana laughed.

"Or not! Gwen and Rachel exclaimed at the same time. "You be quiet Miss Diana," Rachel said as she pointed at the shorter girl, "Unless you want everyone to hear about your own exploits!"

"Okay, okay," she said holding up her hands.

"Well get out while we get changed," said Gwen as she waved an imperious hand at Kurama to dismiss him. With a slightly raised eyebrow he left the room and stood waiting in the hall with Diana.

* * *

He waited until after they had eaten and all gone their separate ways to ask her the question that had been on his mind for some time. 

"Gwen, why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

She squeaked and fidgeted at his side as they walked back to her dorm. "Well because, I don't know, I just didn't want to. Who knows? I thought it'd be weird. I didn't want it to be a big deal and I didn't want you to feel like you had to, you know, like, do anything, or anything." She ended with an indistinct noise and a quick glance at him before looking away and pulling at her fingers.

"So you would be unhappy if I gave you a present?"

"I wouldn't be unhappy!" she exclaimed quickly, looking up at as waving her hands. "I just didn't want you to feel like you had to."

"Well, what would you like?" he asked, expecting an entertaining reaction. She turned around, planted on her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"Kurama! You're such a weirdo! The way you said it, I thought you already got something. Jeeze, don't get me a present."

He laughed as she rolled her eyes at him and turned back around. But he didn't have to wait long until she was the one laughing. The room was empty when they got back to it, the lovebirds flown, so Kurama settled into his normal spot on the futon as Gwen tossed her old clothes in the laundry. When she turned around her eyes zeroed in on him and she frowned noticeably.

"Gwen?" he asked as she walked over to him and leaned closer.

"Kurama, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your roots are growing out."

"Whatever are you talking about?" he laughed, pushing her away with a bit more force than he normally used.

"Well they've been getting darker for a while now, and I wasn't gonna say anything, but you can definitely see the black now. It's getting serious, like half an inch serious." She proffered a hand mirror, trying to keep the smile from her face as he took it.

His faced reddened ever so slightly as he ran his fingers through his hair and examined the extent of the damage. "Well damn." 'If only the others could see me now.'

"How long have you been dyeing your hair?" she asked; no surprise or hesitation apparent anywhere in her demeanor. No, she just smiled at him fondly and kept her snickers under her breath.

"I started after I graduated from high school since there were no longer any clothing or appearance regulations I had to follow." He was ready to admit it to her since there was no way around it now.

"And your mom was okay with it? It must have a big change."

"Well, Shiori had a tendency to be very, ah, _permissive,_ with things I showed a strong interest in."

"Pfff, spoiled," Gwen muttered, leaning over him and poking at his scalp.

"Gwen is that really—" He caught one of her hands but the other was out of his reach and holding a good portion of his hair rather tightly.

"We're gonna need bleach, and then have to re-dye your roots red. God, this is gonna be a pain Kurama. And I haven' dyed anyone's hair before. Wait, I know!" She let go of him and spun away, headed for the cell phone lying on her desk. "I'll take you to get it done! We can afford it, they won't screw it up and accidentally turn it green, and you can get a haircut too!"

"Gwen!" he exclaimed. "I do not want or need a hair cut."

"A trim," she said casually as her fingers jammed the buttons on her phone and it beeped accordingly. "You need like half an inch off 'cuz you've got split ends. You're a guy so I don't expect you to understand this, but you need to get them trimmed off to keep your hair healthy and all. Don't worry, I'm not gonna let them cut it all off," she said with a smile as she held the phone up to her ear. "Then what would I have to braid in class?"

"I told you I would not let you do that again!" She shushed him and proceeded to make an appointment with her hairdresser.

* * *

And so it was that the poor fox found himself two hours later with tinfoil in his hair and a strange middle-aged woman brandishing scissors behind him. He knew Gwen was laughing, probably even cackling across the room in the waiting area. It was so embarrassing to have been tricked into the salon (and he was ready to admit the human could be incredibly tricky sometimes) and then trussed up like this for all to see. 'At least,' he reassured himself as some foul smelling chemical was spread across his scalp, 'there's no way Yusuke and Kuwabara will find out about this…or Hiei.' 

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Gwen smirked as they were walking back to campus.

_"Let's just go on a walk then," she had said, he had never expected the woods to open onto the shopping center. _

"Highlights…Gwen, she gave me highlights."

"And they look really good!" The girl's voice was much too high. It was almost a squeak, one of those girly noises made on encountering something 'sooo cute.' Not a noise a powerful demon should be faced with, ever. "And doesn't it feel nice?"

He wasn't even going to dignify that with a response, but kept walking along the sidewalk with the girl skipping at his side. He felt a slight tug and looked to the side to see her hand pulling back and her cheeks gaining some color as she fixed her eyes on the place where the path through the woods met the sidewalk.

"You can't say it doesn't feel nice."

"You deceived me Gwen."

"I shouldn't be able to deceive you Kurama," she shot back. And she had a point there. 'A walk,' hmph, he was never going to trust her again when it came to walks. Something struck his senses suddenly.

Gwen let out a squeak as Kurama's hand shot around her waist and pulled her to his side. She could tell immediately that something was wrong, he was all tense and the way his posture had shifted subtly told her he was more alert and prepared for something.

"What's wrong?" she asked in an undertone as they kept walking. She was doing her best not to act like anything was unusual as he held onto her.

"Mm, I sensed something unusual," he replied, leaning a little closer so he could keep his voice low. To any observer it would have looked like a couple off on a walk together, whispering sweetly. "Don't worry, it does not seem very strong, but we must proceed with caution."

"Okay. I'll jump if you tell me," she added a giggle at the end and felt his fingers tighten on her waist.

They continued walking for a ways, until the road was left behind them but they were still far from any of the campus buildings. By then Gwen could hear whatever was behind them, it was just the occasional snapping of a twig or heavy footfall, like any normal person walking along a leaf-strewn path. The reached a more open area and Kurama tensed further.

"Halt! F.B.I.!" The pair stopped moving at the shout from behind them. Gwen's mind had suddenly frozen at those words and ideas came flooding back all at once in an torrent.

'F.B.I.? Did they hear that Kurama was supposed to be a foreigner who lost his passport? Is there a serial killer in the woods they're looking for? Do they have an x-files department, or psychics or something on staff? Do they know what he is?'

She turned around slowly and cast a critical eye over the bland looking man in a black suit standing a few meters away. One hand was at his belt, presumably inches from a firearm and the other was hanging at his side, holding something brown.

"Uh, badge?" she said lazily, cocking an eyebrow.

* * *

**Ami:** glad you like the story, and Gwen! I just to write her like I think a good character should be writen, with her own quirks, which I try to stay true to in her interactions with others, though I try to leave some room for growth... 

Yay for getting to a bit more actiony of a sequence coming up in the next one! And a treat, for me at least, in the form of a certain white-haired, furry-eared fiend.


	21. Soo Cute

21 

Lol, so the hair color thing caused quite a stir, so much so that nobody commented on the hair brading joke, oh well… For those of you okay with it, thank you for extending the whole suspension of disbelief a little further and to everyone else, I actually did think it out and come up with my own (slightly twisted) reasoning for why my Kurama dyes his hair. If you want to see just how much I over think things, read on:So in the manga, if you've read it, Kurama's hair is black (only Kuwabara has red hair) but in the anime his hair is red. As a rule I tend to favor whatever the manga sets down over the anime, and really Kurama: Japanese with red hair and green eyes, wtf? Either he's Shiori's half-Scottish lovechild or something's off. So I figured why not have him dye it? It explains the color change between manga and anime and gives me more material to play with. So I wasn't really smacking cannon in the face I was trying to reconcile it... ... Lovechild (indecent snort) Wow, sometimes I surprise/scare myself.

* * *

"Agent Smith, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation," the man replied, holding up his left hand to show them the ID. 

Gwen squinted and pursed her lips before crossing her arms. 'Agent Smith, what, is this the Matrix or something?' she thought as she stared at the man. He kept his eyes on the pair of them as he slowly pocketed the badge. Kurama was standing motionless slightly behind her and that very cautious tension, more than anything else, had her worried.

"I need to speak with the young man, if you'll excuse us miss," the agent said. His right hand was still hovering around his belt and Gwen shot Kurama an uneasy look.

"That badge was fake," she said suddenly.

The agent cocked an eyebrow and gave her a patronizing smile. "I know they tell you on the local news to make sure the cable guy is actually from the cable company, but miss, I can assure you that I am a federal agent."

"No you're not. Who is it you're here to see and why did you follow us into the woods?"

"Gwen," Kurama said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder and gently pushing her to the side. "Be careful."

"I'm here to have a talk with that young man."

"What's his name? What reason do you have for wanting to talk to him? Feds come in pairs or more, not alone."

"Look," he said, his patient demeanor giving way to a frown. This man was dead serious. "You are in danger, he has some unusual characteristics that make him a person of interest to us. For your own sake you should return home now."

"Danger my ass, I don't see it as any business of yours!" Kurama chuckled at the human's indignant tone and the other's shocked reaction.

"You know?"

"Um, I repeat, what business is it of yours?" She looked about ready to snap her fingers at the end of her sentence and wave her hand through the air, but she managed to restrain herself to planting her hands on her hips.

"It is my business," he asserted, taking a step forward. The pair tensed in response but he stopped after that. "So you were more perceptive than I expected. People normally see my suit and badge and are too nervous to think too carefully, but that doesn't make this any less real. I'm a paranormal specialist, the organization I work for monitors all unusual signals in this part of the country, and about three weeks ago that thing," here he pointed directly at Kurama, "showed up. We've been tracking him ever since."

"And what is it you intend to do about me?" Kurama asked quietly, turning to face the man now.

"You will come with me for a thorough investigation of your nature, and after we determine what you are and how you got here we will make further decisions about future action." He sure sounded like a government agent to Gwen as she took stock of the situation and decided she didn't like the expression on either man's face.

"What happens when I refuse to be subjected to your tests?"

"Then you I will be forced to use force."

"You'll leave him alone!" Gwen threw herself forward, between them, her arms outstretched as she faced the fake agent. Kurama couldn't see it, but he knew her face wore that determined expression of hers, the one she used when she was set in her ways and physical force could move her but nothing could change her mind. It was such a serious expression, hardly one that belonged.

"Miss, get out of the way! You don't know what you're dealing with, this thing isn't human!" Smith shouted, gesturing at her to move.

"I know way better than you what he is!" she screamed back. "How dare you come up to us and threaten to attack someone who's done nothing to you, hasn't threatened anyone!"

"Gwen, please move," Kurama continued in his calm and quiet voice, stepping forward and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I can handle this myself."

"No way. And it's not just you; it's the principle of the thing."

"You'd die for your principles?" he asked as he carefully examined his opponent over her shoulder.

"He's not going to attack while I'm standing here."

"You don't know that." The man did in fact seem almost incapable of attacking through an innocent civilian, a trait Kurama himself had not been known for. But then these humans could be surprising in unpleasant ways sometimes. "He might consider you an acceptable loss, please move before he makes that decision."

"Get out of the way!" the man yelled again and Gwen waved one finger from each hand at him while sticking out her tongue.

"Yes, you are the mature, moral warrior," Kurama sighed, remembering the many times Yusuke had gestured at an opponent with the same finger.

"I never claimed to be mature," she shot back. "I told you I'm not moving!"

The man made a sudden movement and began to glow. Gwen tensed, her mind suddenly freaking out at the possibility that she was actually going to be attacked. Kurama also seemed to be under the impression that that was what was about to happen because he stepped back from her suddenly. She was about to turn and look to see which way he was moving when the back of her neck prickled and her hair began to stand on end. It was the feeling of being watched by something behind your back, the feeling of a sudden extra pressure.

* * *

"My little pet, sometimes you can be very frustrating when you don't listen." She shivered at the new voice behind her. It was not the one she knew so well, but it was one she recognized and it sent goose bumps racing down her arms. "Right now though, I am going to have to insist on this matter." She stifled a scream as she felt the ground beneath her moving and something grabbed her arm. The grass was shifting, pushing her to the side, and the nearby saplings had wrapped around her arm and were pulling her away. 

"Kurama, stop it!" she shrieked as more small branches wrapped around her limbs and dragged her further away from them.

She struggled against the foliage enclosing her, ripping through the thin vines and tearing small branches from the little saplings. It didn't do her any good though because each time one broke several more quickly replaced it until her struggling no longer caused the plants any damage. But at least she had gotten turned around so that she could see what was going on. The now white-haired demon was watching her from the corner of his eye as he refused to look away from his opponent. Both men were still in their original positions, waiting for the other to move.

'Agent Smith' was visibly unsettled by the demon's change in appearance but nevertheless he continued to glow as he flipped open his coat. "Don't think that same trick will work on me," he said as he drew what looked like a regular semi-automatic pistol.

The yoko eyed him and his weapon disdainfully as he ran a hand through his hair. "Don't think your little pop-gun will harm me, human."

The human allowed himself a slight smile as he took aim and pulled the trigger. Gwen's eyes were too slow to follow every movement as the fox dodged the bullet only to find the man had fired immediately after the first shot. He kept moving and the second bullet grazed his arm, sending pain jolting through the limb. Apparently it was not just a normal human toy, but one whose ammunition had been enhanced with spirit energy and spells. Kurama jumped as another bullet came his way and focused on the man, who was staying calm for a human in his predicament. But then the humans here weren't used to demons and if this was the best they had in the demon hunter department they'd be in a sad state should a portal to the demon world ever open.

There was a loud crack and the man's eyes widened as his next shot was intercepted by a long, thorny whip. The fox demon landed and just stood there, his posture decidedly casual and the whip hanging loosely in his hand.

"I told you no pop-gun would do the trick," he said as the whip shrank, reducing into one perfect rose. He dropped the flower on the ground and stepped forward rather menacingly.

'Agent Smith' however, was not yet out of options. He holstered his enchanted gun and instead brought his hands together. They began to form shapes and the glow flowed from the rest of his body into his hands, getting brighter as it condensed. The light took the form of two blades extending from his fists, sort of like a reiken but shaped like a katar. Smith bent his legs and sprung towards the demon. Kurama swung out of his way and then jumped back as the blades slashed past him. He continued to dodge, just moving out of range of each swipe as the human attacked.

"Kurama! Take him out already!" Gwen shrieked, pulling against the plants restraining her.

The demon smirked slightly and skipped back a few paces. Smith came to a stop, breathing heavily and glaring at the smug creature facing him. As he shrugged off his suit jacket the demon gave something in his hand a flick and suddenly he was holding a sword as well, though his seemed to be greenish yellow.

"Is that grass? He's not taking this seriously! Kurama you arrogant jerk!"

The man lunged again and the demon flicked his sword to parry the blow. Then his eyes narrowed. He had caught the faintest trace of a smile on the man's face. He swung down to knock his opponent back but the sharp pain along his side told him that he was half a second too late.

"Damn," he remarked as he jumped back. It wasn't deep or very long, but it was a cut. The human had managed to land a blow because he was being overconfident. "So you're not as pathetic as you look," he said slowly as he dropped the blade of grass. "It's time to get serious then."

* * *

"Holy. Shit." Gwen said, her jaw hanging slightly ajar. The source of her weak-kneed awe was the huge, purple **Thing** growing up around Kurama. Its branches ended in gaping mouths lined with jagged teeth, and the odd sizzling sound accompanying each impact of its saliva with the ground gave the impression that its drool was acidic. The branches holding her were now also partially supporting her, and Kurama's human opponent looked about ready to crap his pants. 

"What is that?!" the man screamed, falling back, his arms flailing.

"Well, since you seem to be having difficulty thinking I will have to point out the shockingly obvious, it's what I intend to kill you with," the spirit fox said looking rather bored with the whole situation.

"Kurama!" Gwen shrieked and he rolled his eyes. "There's no way Koenma'd let you back into your world if you killed a human here! And he's obviously not a real threat to you, you don't have to kill him."

"I don't think Koenma would notice a few deaths on this end, and if I let him go he will only come back with reinforcements to bother me again."

"Kurama! I'll notice, and I'll kick your ass back to Spirit World myself. You can always erase his memory can't you?"

"You're as bad as Shizuru," he muttered.

He shrugged and the death tree stopped advancing. A few feet away his opponent was shifting back and forth. He lunged forward suddenly and the fox's eyes widened. 'That's suicidal,' he thought as Smith dived between the snapping branches and rolled towards him. The plant began exploding and the demon threw up a hand as the human sprung to his feet and stabbed. Kurama leapt backwards, over the destroyed hulk of his death tree and pulled out another rose. But before he could transform it the man's katars came shooting through the trunk and one caught the annoyed fox in the side.

In response Kurama came hurtling forward and all Gwen could see was a blur of movement as she heard the sounds of blows on flesh and ominous crunching. When it stopped the two fighters were just standing there, facing each other. But as she narrowed her eyes she saw that Smith was panting and his spirit energy weapons had disappeared.

The human wobbled slightly and the demon extended one hand to deliver the slightest of flicks to his forehead. His unconscious body collapsed backwards, sending up a little puff of leaves and dirt. It was only then that the plants restraining Gwen loosened their hold. She ripped free immediately and ran forward.

"Kurama!" she exclaimed as she ran up to him. He stifled his laughter as she grabbed his arm and went immediately to examine his injuries. "You're a bit cut up, are you alright? I need to get bandages—"

"I am not in need of your ministering right now Gwen. You on the other hand," he took hold of her arm and held it up for inspection. There were scratches running in bands down the surface of her skin and a few areas looked like they might be bruising. "If you had not been so obstinate, you would have remained unharmed."

"Whatever," she said quickly, flicking her arm from his grip. "It doesn't matter. You're in worse shape! Now—"

"You're bleeding." She started and went to clap a hand to the side of her face where he was pointing. But he caught her wrist and turned her face to the side so he could examine the cut. "Hm, not deep. It looks like a branch scraped you." He leaned down and licked the side of her face free of blood.

* * *

"Kurama!" She yelled at him immediately and jerked backwards. "What the Hell do you think you're doing?!" Her heart was pounding but she had been afraid it would stop altogether when she saw him leaning in like that. He had _licked_ her. That was too weird, in all her books, weirder than transforming and all of that. 

"You were going to smear it across your face, I solved that problem."

"But you _licked_ me!"

"I have seen you lick your own minor cuts and suck on your fingers when you injure them. Ah, it's still bleeding," he leaned forward again and she squealed, covering his mouth with both hands.

"Don't lick me! You're not a dog! And I'm not your girlfriend!"

"Those are the two conditions under which such an action would be appropriate?" he asked calmly, straitening his posture so she couldn't cover his mouth. "What about the fact that I am a spirit fox and you are my pet human?"

"I'm not **your pet**!" she practically screamed.

He put out an arm and pulled her to his chest while patting her head. "Poor deluded human, have you also suffered a head injury I was not aware of?"

"I'll give you a head injury," she growled, pushing against him.

He released her and walked back over to his fallen opponent. "I suppose I had best wipe his memory now. Don't expect me to go so far as to heal the fool though." He crouched down beside the man and she rolled her eyes.

"Obviously not. Anyway, when did you stock up on plants?" she asked as she watched him growing some kind of flower in his hand.

"You did not really think I spent all that time in the library, did you?"

"Actually…" He glanced at her over his shoulder and frowned. "What? You like books…a lot, or so I thought. _Wily old bastard_." He smirked slightly as she crossed her arms and took a few steps closer. "Were you really going to kill him?"

"I was considering it."

He jerked forward and let out a snarl as her hand connected with the back of his head. **_"Considering it?"_** was all she managed to get out as he whipped around and grabbed her arm, dragging her down beside him. His sharp teeth were bared at her, his hackles up, but as she landed on her butt she couldn't help smiling up at him. His left ear flicked and he arched an eyebrow at the girl's expression. 'Oh God,' she thought, smacking her free hand to her face and dragging it down.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked as she let out a groan.

"A lot apparently."

His ear flicked again as he watched her scoot backwards and rub her eyes. When she dropped her hands and opened her eyes again the half-smile returned. He couldn't help the slight smile that came to his own lips as she smacked herself in the face again.

"You, stop being so damn sexy, it's distracting me from yelling at you for being an asshole."

"Now there are some things I can't help," he chuckled. He reached out a hand for her but she slipped past it and moved to look at the unconscious man.

"Do you really think of me as your pet?" she asked without looking up at him.

"How else would I think of you?" he asked and she had the strongest desire to turn around and give his hair a good tug.

"Even the rest of the time?" she asked, risking the smallest sideways glance. She caught a slight shift in his expression, it was still unreadable but there had been some reaction.

"You asked what I think of you as." He looked at her down the length of his nose and she turned around a bit further.

"You're equivocating!" she exclaimed. "Ha, you liar, I caught you. I asked about when you're Shuichi and you don't want to answer." She moved forward quickly and her hands latched onto his ears. She flipped them back and forth even more boldly than the first time and his eye twitched.

"I love your ears! They're soo cute."

* * *

**pyrojane: ** thanks so much! I love seeing him out of his element too, it's so entertaining!

**Ami:** well, I was picturing something like gold to blonde... which makes me laugh every time I think of it :D. I hope the suspense didn't kill you!

**lex:** reader abuse? I see no reader abuse! muwahaha. that kind of ambush party actually happened to a girl on my hall the other week (and inspired that part of the story) I could hear her yelling at them from the other side of the hall.


	22. Not a Chapter: Interlude

Intra-Chapter Special

Hey everybody, I've been having some trouble with the next chapter, emplotting it and all, it's not going so smoothly. I keep thinking one thing would work then it doesn't so I have to go back and change it all around. As I've said before, I have some trouble writing Yoko Kurama in a way I don't find too OOC to post. I only hope it won't be a terrible mesh when I do finish it. But since it's taken so long I thought I ought to put something out! (And as this isn't the next chapter I haven't responded to reviews yet, sorry! I might start on that soon.)

The beginning is inspired by the very last episode, when they're on the train, and then goes off on my own insane tangent.

* * *

**Interlude**

"Hey Kuwabara, whatcha got there?"

"Nothin'" the taller man said, lifting the paper out of reach. "It's just the newspaper Urameshi, nothing that would interest you."

Yusuke Urameshi, though put off by the idea of the newspaper, was not one to back down when challenged in such a way, and he knew for a fact that it wasn't the local news that really had his friend's interest. He jumped up and snatched the middle section of the paper from Kuwabara's hands, leaving him holding only the front page.

"Hey look, it's Hiei again! This time they made him green too!" As he was laughing over the drawing of the 'hundred eyed alien' Kuwabara snatched the paper back and folded it under his arm.

"If he's not more careful the little twerp's gonna reveal the existence of demon world," he huffed, planting his hands on his waist.

"Aw Kuwabara, don't you know he's an alien? The article said so," Yusuke exclaimed, punching the other in the shoulder. "So why were you trying to hide it, you're not collecting articles on Hiei are you? Snipping them all out," Yusuke mimed pinning a little piece of paper to an imaginary wall, "and saving them in a memory box."

"Don't be stupid, of course I'm not! I just wanted to read in peace!"

The shouting match had begun and it was looking like it would soon turn into a wrestling match as well. Yusuke had no trouble limiting his strength so that it was just a little bit more than Kuwabara's and so their fights had resumed once the ex-spirit detective had returned from his years in demon world. Now he had a job and Keiko and Kuwabara were in college. Kurama was too, but he was currently absent.

"You think Kurama's doing okay?" Yusuke said suddenly, pausing with Kuwabara in a headlock.

"Yeah, I'm sure he's fine, he's Kurama after all," he said, his voice only slightly muffled as he pulled on Yusuke's iron muscles. "And he's living with girls."

"Yeah, but he said they weren't hot. Of course being Kurama he probably has really high standards or something. He pretty much doesn't even look at humans."

"Hey, Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled, still in the headlock. "I've got an idea!"

"You? That's a new one," he muttered, releasing his friend at last.

"Shut up!" Kuwabara rubbed his neck as he cricked it from side to side. "You're gonna be telling me how brilliant I am in a minute. Kurama's not here right?"

"Right," Yusuke said slowly.

"And you know how he's always weird about having us over to his place."

"Keeps saying we'll break stuff," Yusuke grumbled scratching his head. "And always finds ways around having us over."

"Yeah, so he's not here, so he can't stop us from coming over."

"But what good does that do us when he's not—" Yusuke cut off mid-yell and a wide grin spread across his face. "That's a great idea Kuwabara! But how are we going to get in?"

"Urameshi, are you telling me between the two of us we can't get through a locked door?"

"I jus' didn't want to break the door down." Yusuke shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Eh, whatever, let's go."

* * *

They didn't have to break down the door after all. There was a key under the mat. They looked from the key, to the door, and then at each other before looking back at the small metal object on the ground. 

"I don't believe it, he left a key out here?"

"It's not booby-trapped is it?" Kuwabara asked, prodding the mat with his toe. "Some flesh-eating plant isn't gonna explode out of the floor and eat us, is it?"

"He must have left it for his mom," Yusuke said, lifting the key from its resting place.

Time didn't stop, no mad flowers took chunks out of their shins and no vines dropped from the ceiling to strangle them, so they breathed a sigh of relief and Yusuke opened the door. Inside the apartment was dark, the curtains were all closed and the lights off. A few articles of clothing were scattered across the floor leaving a trail back to the small bedroom.

"Well you can tell he left in a hurry," Yusuke said as Kuwabara pulled open the blinds.

The redhead turned and nodded his agreement. "Yeah, poor guy had no idea he wouldn't be coming right back. Ew, you think his food's all gone bad?"

"Only one way to know." Yusuke walked into the little kitchen and opened the refrigerator. "Damn. They had better food in demon world."

"Maybe we should clean it out for him."

"You can touch that stuff if you want to, but I'm not going near it. It's probably got some demon hunting mold."

"The great King Urameshi, eaten by mold!" Kuwabara burst out laughing, much to Yusuke's annoyance. It took less than five minutes from their entrance for them to be throwing moldy food around Kurama's apartment and upsetting the scant furnishings. And they wondered why he didn't invite them over more often. "Eat tofu Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled, only to get hit in the face by a foul smelling leek.

"Eat it yourself dumbass!"

* * *

A few dimensions away Kurama looked up from his book and shuddered. 

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked, leaning back in her desk chair and letting her head fall back as she looked at him. He stared out the window for a moment before giving himself a shake and going back to his book.

"Oh it's nothing," he said quietly. "I just had a strange feeling," _of dire foreboding._


	23. Ears

22

Thanks for being so patient!! Ok a few comments first: Gwen could reach Kurama's ears in the last chapter cuz he was squatting and she was kneeling, sorry if I didn't make the transition clear enough. Two, there is no such thing as a too long review as long as it doesn't take up the entire page, so don't worry about it (and if you really needed to say something that long you could always pm me :D)!

We all love fuzzy ears, woo us! Kagome is my heroine for five solid minutes of playing with inu yasha's ears while he was stuck to the tree. Unfortunately, yoko Kurama is a pain to write T.T and as I love him so this makes me very sad (it's also why this took so long).

**And!** ich habe eine beta!! Let's all give our condolences to Uroki Avalon as the poor dear is now going to have to slog through my spelling errors and grammatical oddities, of course any remaining ones are still my fault. I hide them very well and I am afflicted with the idea that I have the right to invent new grammatical structures as I write, or import ones from other languages.

* * *

"You didn't have to knock me over!" she exclaimed. 

"Would you rather I had knocked you unconscious?"

She grimaced and leaned further away from the glaring demon that was now towering above her.

"You know who I am, girl, don't you even take that into account before you act?"

She paused for a second, bringing a quote to mind before speaking. "I met a traveler from an antique land," she said slowly.

His eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms as he looked at her. "What kind of response is that?"

"Who said," she said louder, talking right over him. "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. …And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" Nothing besides remains."

"And?"

"And, idiot, you may have been the king of thieves, but what's left of it, huh? An eroding story."

A low rumbling noise notified her that this might not have been the best approach to take with the demon. Reminding him of how 'former' his glory days were was perhaps not the way to start a conversation.

"Insolent, insufferable human," he snapped, looking away from her. "I'm wasting my time with you."

"You, waste your time? And what exactly would you be better off doing while you're here?" she shot back as she sat up on her knees. "What oh-so-pressing matters do you have to attend to at home? Your garden needs a little weeding, maybe your mom needs you to pick up a few groceries? I'm the one wasting My time! What good are you to me? You're a boatload of trouble, that's all!"

"Trouble?" he growled, his head snapping around. Their eyes locked but this time she didn't go off into a giggle fit over his. "You're trouble to yourself, doodling in class, falling up stairs and walking into doors and walls. Your friends haven't been the ones to help you, they think it's funny."

"You think it's funny too!" He cocked his head to the side but didn't deny it as she poked him in the chest. "I've been lying out my ass for you and you don't care, and now look at us! There's an unconscious spirit-aware-dude-thing on the ground 'cuz yeh beat him up and I look like I've crawled through an angry thorn bush!" She gestured angrily at the body beside them and the yoko shrugged.

"If I'm so much trouble to you, human, why don't you throw me out?"

"Because I'm not a bitch. I'm not _your_ bitch and I'm not **a** bitch." She crossed her arms and glared at him. When he was sitting down and she was on her knees they were about eye-level. "Sorry it's so troublesome for you to have to deal with a human."

"It's not humans in general," he said, leaning forward so their noses were almost touching. "Most are far more cooperative, and predictable. Your behavior, like your moods, is erratic and your motivations opaque. I have been wasting far too many hours trying to understand a creature I won't be spending that much more time with."

Gwen thought for a moment, leaning back and dropping her eyes while the kitsune watched her. He was expecting her to take the statement hard, perhaps begin another shouting fit. A smile suddenly spread across her face and she smiled up at him. "So does this mean I can fluff your ears?"

"No."

So she settled for grabbing his tail.

* * *

He grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her to the ground, ignoring the twinge of pain as he ripped his tail from her grasp. But what was her reaction? The fear and awe he deserved? No, she was laughing, practically rolling around on the ground as she clutched her stomach. 

"I'm going to—" But his threat was drowned out by the person he was trying to intimidate.

"What are you going to do?" She gasped between laughs. "Bleed on me? Ahhaha!"

He glanced down and realized that he was in fact still bleeding, though not very much. Why she found this amusing when normally she would be upset was beyond him, so he settled for giving her a good shake. After a few seconds she managed to get herself back under control, mostly.

"You're supposed to say 'tis but a flesh wound!'" That stupid movie she'd made him watch, she was referencing it now? "Your face," she giggled, "You looked so angry. Like you were gonna kill me!"

"Do you have a death wish?"

"Shouldn't that be Hiei's line?" she laughed.

"Don't you have any sense of fear?" His anger was replaced by the fox's normal, cold demeanor. He told himself he must not allow her to keep him off balance like this, he must maintain control.

"I'm not afraid of you," she replied as calmly as she could. "If I thought you would hurt me I wouldn't let you live with me."

'There are a million ways to hurt someone as fragile as yourself,' he thought, but didn't voice the sentiment. He would certainly hurt her at some point, and she was probably well aware of the fact herself. But another matter was bothering him as well. "What is your obsession with touching my ears?"

"I just really like them," she said, reaching up a hand to the side of his face. He thought it would be best to pull away now. He knew he should break contact now that he could see he had not made his point. Allowing this to continue would only cause more trouble and encourage her insanity. He stayed still. He was watching her contented little smile as her fingers brushed his fur.

He had never expected her to have such deft little fingers. Kurama was not an affectionate or open demon. He did not invite close contact. The few demons he had allowed to get close had not found his ears to be his most attractive attribute, and so the fox hadn't realized the relaxing effect of a good scratch. His eyes snapped open and he pulled away. She was propping herself up on one arm and still had that ridiculous smile on her face. Gwen thought he looked cuter than she had ever seen him before. He was flustered, actually flustered, a reaction that would only last a second or two before his normal iciness returned.

"And now let's braid your hair!" she exclaimed. He stared at her in horror for the full second and a half she managed to maintain her composure before exploding in another fit of giggles.

The classic demon fox was back after that. As he roughly pulled her to her feet she knew he would not let her near his ears again, or be caught off-guard by one of her statements. Without another word he pushed her back onto the path towards campus and she stumbled along to keep from falling.

"Are you just going to leave him there?" She questioned as the fox kept up the pressure on the small of her back to keep her moving.

"Yes."

"But what about when he wakes up?"

"He won't remember anything that's happened for the past three days." He caught her arm as she tripped over a log and bodily hauled her over the obstacle.

"Yeah, but somebody sent him!" She was struggling to fully regain her footing and keep up the conversation, but he seemed intent on keeping her off balance now.

"This is my message to them. They would be fools to send another."

"Um hey," She exclaimed, trotting out of his grip and turning around. "We are talking about a human organization here."

"Then I will deal with them," he said, striding forward and grabbing her by the arm again.

"But can't you try to talk to them?"

Instead of pushing her ahead again he paused and looked down at her with an expression on his face that made her want to crawl into a hole and die. "Don't be an idiot," he said shortly. "And this way they will still have no idea of your involvement."

"Right now I don't know whether to be flattered or offended," she muttered.

"Just be quiet," he said as he began pushing her towards campus again.

"Hey!"

* * *

Once the campus buildings were in sight Gwen felt the hand propelling her forward drop away. She turned in time to spot the silver fox melting away between the trees. 

"Hey! Kurama!" she called, promptly jumping off the path and tromping after him. "I'm not going back to my dorm without you!" she yelled as she pushed aside thorny bushes.

She couldn't see him, not even a trace of his passing, but she knew he was still close by, probably annoyed, his tail flicking. She giggled slightly then clapped a hand over her mouth. He probably wanted to wait until he changed back to return, but he was a slight mess and it had definitely been longer than fifteen minutes, who knew how long he would stay like that.

"Hey, get your butt back over here! I'm talking to you, Mr. Too-good-to-hang-with-the-humans. Why don't you let me help you out?"

"Aren't you tired of helping me yet?"

Gwen shivered and looked up. There he was, thirty, forty feet up, standing on a branch like it was solid ground. She took a few steps back so she could get a better view and crossed her arms.

"Not tired yet. Are you _still _bleeding? Get down here and let me see!" There was a silver blur of movement and she jerked backwards as the fox appeared before her. He held out an arm mutely and she stepped forward to look at the long scrape the bullet had cut. "It's still bleeding! Why won't it clot?" She delicately pressed around the wound, finding no sign that the trickle of blood would soon cease. "And it's the same with your side? Is it something he did with his energy, some way of keeping the other person from healing?"

"Apparently. I've stayed in this form because I have a higher tolerance for injury, and if I can't stop the bleeding, even though it's light, it will add up."

"There must be some way to stop it; he wasn't trying to kill you."

"That's what I've been trying to think of, when you give me the chance."

Gwen sniffed and swallowed her snarky comebacks. "Well, sit down and put pressure on your side. Elevate your right arm and I'll shut up."

He glared at her as she kicked aside some leaves and sat on a log. His cold demeanor had no effect on the girl, so he sat down as well and put a hand to his side. After about a minute she got up and slowly approached him. He gritted his teeth and prepared to be assaulted by sheer stupidity in the form of whatever next issued from her mouth. She squatted down beside him and he continued to wait, refusing to encourage her by acknowledging her presence.

"Idiot, didn't I tell you to elevate your arm?" She took hold of his arm and held it up.

"Did you ever consider the fact that I don't take orders from you?" 'Not to mention that this is undignified and I look ridiculous.'

"It wasn't an order, it was a helpful suggestion," she said, scooting closer.

"Damn you and your helpful suggestions, Gwen. You're going to get blood on your clothes."

"I didn't particularly like this shirt anyway," she shrugged.

"So, little human, would you perform this service for anyone in need of assistance? Would all humans help such a creature as myself?"

"Of course not," she laughed. "I'm only helping you because you're so cute," she added with a sly smile and a teasing glance.

"So your motivations are selfish then," he remarked in his distant voice, his eyes briefly resting on her before returning to their surroundings.

"It was a joke. Kurama, I'm not going to help you think up reasons to rationalize whatever it is you're feeling."

"What's that comment supposed to mean?" He pulled his arm from her hands and she shrugged, sitting back and leaning on her arms.

"I don't know what's going on in your head, the idea itself is scary as hell, but that question was weird. I'm-poking-around-for-something-in-particular weird." She took a breath muttering 'freaking demon' to herself as she closed her eyes. In her mind she was running over the events of the last hour, trying to get some slight insight into the kitsune's frame of mind. He took things quite differently when he was in his demonic form than in his human one, or maybe she only thought he did.

He reached out towards her, his hand open, fingers curling, at the same time resisting his own impulses. Yoko Kurama was not a creature to act on impulse, no matter how affected by the humans surrounding him. She cracked open an eye and caught sight of his movement and the fingers pausing inches from her, but she didn't jump like he expected.

"I've got a pretty neck, haven't I? Though I'd rather not be throttled right now if you don't mind."

He let out a slight 'hn' as he leaned forward just enough to reach her. His fingers brushed along her neck and his thumb traced the line of her jaw. Though she didn't pull away from him and had let her open eye slide closed he could see her muscles tense and her breath catch. For the moment at least, she had shown apprehension, but not necessarily fear.

"I could almost hate you and your pretty neck, little pet."

She swallowed and opened her eyes to stare back at him. "Almost? What's stopping you? I'm not your beautiful damsel in distress or your demon queen, and I obviously bother you a lot. I play tricks on you and pester you with questions. It must drive you crazy."

"Oh, it does," he said, his hand catching on the back of her neck and suddenly pulling her forward. She flung her arms out as she was jerked forward and her gurgling shout was enough to suit even the yoko's demanding pride. "So you are lucky, Human, that I do not actually hate you, and have no need to wring your neck."

He let go of her and her nostrils flared. The yoko smirked slightly as the human sat up on her knees and glared at him. He was not expecting her open palm to collide with the side of his face in such a forceful manner.

"I-I can't believe you said that!" she hissed, not noticing that the yoko's hair was already changing from silver to red.

* * *

I was thinking of Raizen's to bite or not to bite dilemma at the end there, I don't know if it shows, but that's where the reaching imagery was inspired… Hopefully it was kinda worth the uber-long wait, I certainly had no idea it would take me this long. 

**Ami: **everybody's hi-tech these days! Lol I'm hoping the suspense kills slowly enough that you're still around to see the end of this story!


	24. Touchy Feely

23

Saturday it snowed here, Monday it was 80 and then it snowed… weather just makes my head hurt. Chocolate for everybody! Lent is over, though I was a bad girl and didn't give anything up this year. My roommate gave up chocolate. All I can say is if you're a chocoholic don't go cold turkey, wean yourself off it, it's better for everybody that way. :D

And thanks again to my beta Uroki Avalon for not only slogging through this but also for getting it back so quickly!

* * *

Kurama put his hand to his cheek and worked his jaw slightly. His skin actually stung and he was conscious of her staring at him. For once he had absolutely no idea what to say, he had not been expecting the change at all.

"Aren't you going to bleed to death now?" she asked, her tone still tense and angry.

"I managed to counteract the effect of his spirit energy," he said, still not looking at her. "I thought of it while we were talking."

"So your mind's always on a million things then I guess."

He risked a glance and found her sitting on her feet with her shoulders slumped. She was staring at her hands as they lay in her lap, and biting her lip.

"Gwen?" She looked up at him and he almost cringed. He had hurt her already but she wasn't just angry with him. "I was attempting to play along with you in my own way. I'm sorry that I frightened you."

"Play along!?!" she demanded, throwing up her arms. "What the hell do you mean 'play along'?!"

He pulled his eyes away from her and made them focus on the surrounding plant life.

"Gwen, I'm a demon and though I have lived these past twenty years as a human, I have not fully acclimated. Memories of my old life, and current concerns, keep me from becoming fully human in behavior and attitude. When I revert to my yoko form this becomes more pronounced. You made a joke about me strangling you and I was making one back."

"It was a joke?" she asked, her right eye twitching slightly. He caught the twitch from the corner of his eye and covered his mouth.

"A bad one, in poor taste. Most demons would not have been amused either."

Her posture crumpled even further, it was almost like she had hit herself. "I hit you, like actually hit you, not just playing around. I don't know that I could forgive you for hitting me, but I did it to you. And you were joking, that makes it so much worse!"

"Gwen, it's okay," he said, trying to keep all amusement out of his expression and voice. She seriously was upset by the fact that she had struck him, a very rare thing among his group of acquaintances. "I should have never grabbed you like that."

"Damn right you shouldn't!" Apparently with his permission everything was back on track with him being on the receiving end of her anger. "But let's not talk about it anymore. The most important thing is that we get you cleaned up."

She stood up and offered him a hand, which after a slight pause, he took.

* * *

The week arrived and classes rolled by again, only to have them find it was Thursday already. In the blur of long hours somehow it had ended up being a day they felt it had no right to be.

"Where did my week go?" Gwen cried as she frantically dug through the pile of books on her desk in search of that one missing notebook. "It was just Monday, I don't even remember Tuesday. Life can't go by this fast!"

"It doesn't when you're bored out of your mind," Shelly said. She had removed the pen from her mouth just long enough to get the sentiment out before her teeth clamped down on the end again and recommenced gnawing. She had a paper due the next morning and with the blank stare she had fixed on the page and a half of written material everybody knew it was going to be a long night.

"I'm afraid life goes by rather quickly," Kurama said.

Gwen groaned and prodded him. "Not helping."

"Sorry, I was being truthful." He watched with amusement as she spun around slowly, scanning for the notebook. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find it later."

"But I wanted it now! Can I even go to the gym tonight? There's so much I need to do!"

"There's been so much you need to do for several days, Gwen, and you need a real study break." He took her by the arm and with a wave to Shelly drew the flustered girl from the room.

It was the first time Kurama had gone to school's gym since a school ID or student number was needed to get in. That week he had acquired one from one of the guys living on the adjacent hall, a guy who didn't go to the gym, or leave his room much for that matter.

"Kurama," Gwen had said the day after their 'adventure' in the woods. "I want you to teach me judo."

He had been slightly wary of her since the preceding afternoon and took a moment to digest her statement. "Gwen, I'm sorry that I scared you that badly, but I don't really think any martial arts I taught you would actually be effective against me."

"What?" Her brow furrowed and she tilted her head to the side. "I know I hit you and all, and I'm sorry, but I'm not asking you to teach me to beat you up. Uh, that would be crazy."

"Then why?"

"Cuz I'm so helpless!" she exclaimed, throwing up her arms and turning away from him. "I'm not strong at all and if you weren't around I'd never be able to defend myself! You know martial arts and all, right? So I want you to teach me some basic stuff, like how to throw someone and run away."

"And run away…"

"Or break their arm, that would work too."

And of course, there was no way he could really refuse her.

* * *

They walked through the lobby and Gwen led the way past stationary bikes and step machines towards the weight room. She turned in the hall between them and headed off towards the stairs on the left with the fox strolling along a few steps behind her. She had put on 'work-out clothes,' namely sweat pants and an old t-shirt, but since she had refused to let him buy anything resembling his normal practice clothing he had stayed in the shorts and t-shirt he had worn all day.

"Ah, it's empty, sweet." They were on the lower level now and she had opened what appeared to a random door in a long hallway with occasional doors and was leaning in to look around. "This should do, right?"

He followed her into the room. It was long and the ceiling seemed rather lower than the large rooms upstairs. The floor was wooden and empty except for a few piles of mats along one wall. The wall to their right was lined with mirrors. Kurama blinked, he couldn't immediately identify the purpose of this room, the mirrors seemed distracting.

"They normally have, like, dance or aerobics practices down here, that's why there are mirrors, so you can see what you're doing wrong."

"Aerobics?"

"Yeah, I had pilates down here a few times last year." She walked over to the pile of mats and started dragging a few down, leaving Kurama to close the door and turn on the rest of the lights. "So sensei, what do we do?"

"Well," he said, approaching her slowly. "I believe I should teach you how to fall."

"How to fall?" she asked in a deadpan.

"It is very important, if you don't know how to fall you can injure yourself. It is very helpful in allowing you to recover if you are thrown or fall on your own."

An hour later Gwen was falling and rolling adequately and they had moved on to the very basics of holds and how to get out of them. She wasn't nearly as uncoordinated as her clumsiness had led him to expect, but she would get confused and flustered and he would have to let go of her before she could hurt herself.

"We're making very good progress," he said when she finally admitted to being exhausted. "You're doing much better then I expected Gwen."

"Since I'm doing pretty crappy I guess you didn't expect much." She walked away from him rubbing her wrist and squatted down by a mat to fold it up again. "I'll get better though. This is something I really want to learn."

"I have no doubt about that." He smiled as he went to help her put the mats away. "If we practice regularly, I'm sure you'll be able to wriggle out of anything."

She smiled over at him. "Thanks. Thanks for teaching me this."

* * *

"Okay, I've got my computer, my books, clothes, umm… cell phone, purse, camera," she flitted from the futon to her desk as the two other occupants of the room watched with some amusement. "What am I missing? I know I'm missing something."

"You're not missing anything, Shelly," Gwen chuckled as her roommate ran back to her suitcase again. "And you're only going for the weekend so I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Do you think I should bring the skirt or not?" She held up the article of clothing and looked at herself in the mirror as she twisted back and forth.

"Might as well."

Kurama just shook his head and tried to focus on his book. The difficulty Shelly was having packing seemed to be endemic in her gender. She was going to her boyfriend's house for the weekend, and that would leave him alone with Gwen. He tried not to think about it, about the likelihood it would introduce new complexities and strangeness to the relationship. He heard the zipper as Shelly closed her bag and he took a deep breath. 'Here we go.'

"Ok, I'm heading out. Bye guys!" Shelly slung her bag over her shoulder and adjusted her fleece.

"Have fun!" Gwen grinned at her roommate as she handed the girl her purse. "You sure you don't want help carrying that?"

"I'm only going to the parking lot," Shelly laughed. She walked to the door and paused, looking back. "Now you two behave yourselves, and try not to have too many wild parties!"

"Aw, there goes my plans for the weekend!" Gwen laughed and waved to her departing friend. As soon as she was out of the hall Gwen dropped onto the futon next to Kurama and yawned. "Well I'm glad you're here," she said at length to the still-reading boy. "It's weird being alone."

"I'm glad to be of some assistance," he replied, lazily turning the page.

Her phone rang and she pushed herself from the couch with an 'umph.' Kurama chuckled slightly at the girl's movements as she tripped across the room and snatched up the ringing phone. She glanced at the display before flipping it open.

"Whazzz uuhp?!" she called loudly, making some strange gesture with her free hand.

"Whass Up?!" came the equally eloquent reply, followed by a lot of giggling.

"Hey," she said in her normal voice as she sat on the desk. "Not much, Shelly just left.—No, nothing.—Really? And you're just telling me now?!" She laughed at something and Kurama glanced up from his book. "Okay, okay, when?—And where? Excellent. Of course!" she exclaimed and then her face fell slightly. She bit her lip and her eyes slid sideways to meet his. "Yeah, your place at 10, okay. See you then sweetums. Muwah!" She made a few exaggerated kissy noises at the phone before snapping it shut.

Kurama was trying to look disinterested and focused on his book as she slid off the desk and returned to the futon. He had to wonder who had been on the other end. It hadn't sounded like any of her friends that he knew, which meant it was probably a friend from a club or class he didn't attend. No names sprung to mind, and the fact that he couldn't identify the caller's gender from the two words he'd overheard wasn't helping.

"So club volleyball's having a party tonight," she said dismissively as she opened one of her textbooks. "And they made me promise to come. I don't think I'll stay long, just pop in and say hi. You don't have to come or anything."

"Well if you're not going to be long I think I will stay here then. Jeff and Kyle from your adjoining hall told me that they must introduce me to some 'truly American' pastimes. Apparently they think your influence is not enough."

"Well as long as it's like playing football and not knocking over mailboxes, I'm sure it will be fun," she laughed. She paused and let out a little snort as she pressed her hand to her mouth. "Actually, I think knocking over mailboxes would be really fun, it's just illegal."

There were eerie times when she strongly reminded him of Yusuke. He tried to shake aside the feeling of deja vu and was reminded of the uneasy feeling he had gotten earlier, something to do with the detective and Kuwabara. He hoped they weren't in trouble, or causing it.

* * *

That night they both went out. This time she was back before he was. It was the early morning hours when the door opened and Gwen jumped in her seat where she had been half asleep.

"You're still awake?" Kurama asked quietly. She nodded and rubbed her eyes as he came in and pushed the door closed. "I hope you were not staying up for me."

"Course not," she yawned, "I don't give a damn about you, do I?"

He chuckled and began to clear the futon of the various books and articles of clothing that had accumulated during the course of the day. "There's no need to worry about me Gwen, I can take care of myself." She stuck out her tongue at him and he decided to continue. "Tonight I participated in an activity that I didn't know existed before today."

"Oh really, and what would that be?" She seemed to be getting slightly more alert as she said goodbye to her friends online and turned off her computer.

"Jeff and Kyle called it garden gnome liberation."

Gwen's jaw unhinged, her eyes widened incredulously and then she fell backwards shrieking with laughter. "Garden Gnome Liberation! You were stealing people's lawn ornaments, it's called petty theft!" She looked around the room quickly as she wiped her eyes. "Where are they? What did you do with them?"

The fox smirked and sat down heavily. "We left them as a present in some unsuspecting person's front yard. I believe Kyle said it was the crew house." Gwen almost fell off her chair she was laughing so hard and Kurama couldn't help chuckling as well. "We drove for around half an hour to get to a neighborhood with a sufficient number of garden ornaments. At first I thought they were going to abandon me in the middle of an empty field or some other, equally amusing thing."

"Haha then you would have murdered them! Did you guys take pictures?"

"A few," Kurama admitted.

"I have to see them!" Still laughing, Gwen crawled into bed and said goodnight.

* * *

She gasped and pushed herself up in bed, her eyes wide and staring off into the calm night. The cold sweat she had broken out in told of anything but calm. Gwen put a hand to her chest and squeezed, her nails digging into her shirt as she tried to get herself under control. The nightmare was still vivid in her mind and she couldn't shut her eyes without seeing flashes of it.

She glanced over at the futon where Kurama was sleeping. His breathing was shallow enough that she couldn't see it in the darkness, and she assumed that he was tired enough that her sudden movement hadn't woken him. Ever so slowly she slid the covers aside and placed her feet on the floor. If she moved quickly and silently, she thought, she could get out of the room without waking him. The bed springs squeaked as she got to her feet and she winced before scurrying across the floor.

"Gwen, is everything alright?"

She paused with her hand reaching for the doorknob and looked over at him. He was still lying in the same position on his side with his eyes closed and his hair everywhere. "Everything's fine," she whispered, hoping he would think she was just going to the bathroom and go back to sleep.

"Then why haven't you put on your shoes?"

"Uhn." She shuffled around in the dark until she found her flip-flops and slipped them on. She heard Kurama sit up and inwardly groaned, the last thing she wanted was to be questioned about her childish fears.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he pushed his hair back from his face and looked at her, his eyes tinted with concern.

"Oh it's nothing, I just had a bad dream."

"Where were you going?"

"The lounge. I, uh well, I couldn't sleep again so I was going to watch TV for a while." She shifted her weight from foot to foot and shrugged as he looked at her.

"What was your dream about?"

She shuddered and shook her head, rubbing her arms as she turned towards the door again. "I don't want to talk about it, it was just bad, and I need some mindless noise to distract me."

"But then you won't sleep."

"No, well that's the point," she smiled. "Can't sleep, clowns will eat me." She laughed at his expression and flicked her hand through the air. "You should watch The Simpsons, especially the early episodes. But you go back to bed, I'll be in the lounge."

He moved forward to catch her arm and pull her back towards the futon. While he knew the campus was a safe one he still didn't like the idea of her sitting in the lounge alone at 4AM on a weekend, even without the prospect of danger he didn't like that mental image. He pulled her down next to him and sat back, crossing his legs and looking at her carefully. Meanwhile Gwen was squirming.

"Tell me what frightened you, Gwen." He thought if she could explain it she would feel better, or he could help alleviate her fears.

"What? No! I don't want to think about it, the best thing is to put it completely out of my mind as fast as possible, which is why I need mah TV." She made a move to get up but he caught her arm again and prevented her from leaving, though she did slide to the edge of the couch. "Kurama, let go of me!"

"Are you frightened of your nightmare right now, Gwen?"

"What?" She asked, making a face at him. She was tired and still groggy. The last thing she wanted was to answer questions, or think in any way.

"Are you thinking of it now?" he asked calmly, not letting go of her.

"Well no, mainly cuz yer harassing me."

"Then I don't see why you need to leave." The statement was a final one, irritating her further.

"Well see I thought maybe you would do this thing called sleeping, and when you're asleep over here it doesn't really help."

"I see." He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. Gwen leaned away from him slightly, unsettled by his actions, he was being far more forward than she was used to or strictly comfortable with. She squeaked as he put his hand around her waist and she was pulled backwards.

She would have hit him again if he had pulled her onto his lap or anything of the sort, but he didn't, he had merely pulled her back beside him. He left his hand on her waist, a reassuring sort of pressure, even though she wasn't sure how pleased she was about the situation.

"Then I won't fall asleep until you do."

"I thought you weren't the touchy feely type, Kurama," she muttered as she allowed herself to lean against him.

"Normally I'm not," he murmured back. "But I don't want you to feel frightened Gwen." He could feel her heartbeat increase and the slight heat from her face. 'Indulging myself at her expense,' he thought darkly as he leaned his head against hers and took a deep breath.

"That's disgustingly sweet," she snorted while cuddling up to him, and his inner self couldn't help agreeing with her, even if the sentiment was true.


	25. A Dangerous Game

24 A Dangerous Game

I'm not sure how much longer this will be. I'm almost certain I'm more than halfway through, but I have a tendency to come up with random situations I find amusing that pad out chapters and so end up taking longer to get to certain points than I originally intended. Things do stay on time story-time wise (I've got a chronology worked out) I just throw things in between the mile posts. I think it works since this is much more character study driven in my mind than a plot driven narrative. I should just put updates and information like this on my homepage, that would probably be the smart thing to do...lol

For Kaokitty2, who reminded me that I was neglecting the world and giving very little by way of setting description. Hopefully I can make things less 2D.

* * *

_My November Guest- Robert Frost_

_My Sorrow, when she's here with me,  
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain  
Are beautiful as days can be;  
She loves the bare, the withered tree;  
She walks the sodden pasture lane._

_Her pleasure will not let me stay.  
She talks and I am fain to list:  
She's glad the birds are gone away,  
She's glad her simple worsted grady  
Is silver now with clinging mist._

_The desolate, deserted trees,  
The faded earth, the heavy sky,  
The beauties she so ryly sees,  
She thinks I have no eye for these,  
And vexes me for reason why._

_Not yesterday I learned to know  
The love of bare November days  
Before the coming of the snow,  
But it were vain to tell he so,  
And they are better for her praise._

* * *

The heat was gone. October was arriving, sapping the blazing warmth out of the days and blowing away the pressing damp. Summer's dying throes were not gentle or gradual, but cold days alternated with hot, jumping up and down fast enough that the students were in shorts and tank tops one day, sweatshirts, jeans and jackets the next. And then it began to rain. Pattering outside the window, dripping between the bricks, turning the trees a dark, dark brown, almost black, and making the green plants pop all the more as they glistened. The diffuse grey light was slow in growing, slow in taking on any intensity of its own, fettered as it was by the clouds. Because there were no rays of golden light streaming in, because it was chilly and so much nicer under blankets, it was late before either of them woke. 

The red-head stirred slightly, a lone hair was irritating his cheek, just enough to be felt but not seen. He shifted his weight slightly and gave his head a shake, realizing as he did so that he couldn't move his arms. Kurama knew he was in trouble, he had known for a while now, in the mid-range of his mind, but now he was struck by it with the full force of realization. Realization that his right arm was numb and currently pinioned by Gwen's shoulder, while she had a good hold on the other. She had a strong grip for being asleep, and when he tried to slip his arm free she began to stir.

'Well, l this would certainly count as complicating things,' he thought wryly after waiting a few seconds to make sure she was still sleeping. He didn't think he could extricate himself from the mess without waking her and a grumpy, not to mention embarrassed, Gwen would just make things that much worse. 'I didn't put her back in her bed,' he chided himself, now that it was too late. That had been the plan, hadn't it? Wait until she fell asleep and then move her, not fall asleep alongside her. Again he had ignored his original intentions, again he was getting far closer than he had ever meant to. This was dangerous territory, but this time the kitsune knew he had a soft spot for human females.

Gwen stirred again and Kurama went very still. He would pretend to be asleep until he could think of a way out of this situation. She leaned back against him, and then her breathing changed. Ever so slowly she let go of his arm and shifted her weight forward, while he continued to feign sleep. Then like a shot she was moving. He was still impressed by her ability to spring out of bed moments after waking. Before he could even push himself up she was out the door and jogging down the hall to the bathroom.

Kurama threw the blanket aside and sat up, running his hands through his hair to get it back in order. The grey light was over everything now, illuminating the room without any sort of distinction. He was awash in the drab color. He knew she would not be happy when she came back in, and in many ways he was glad that that was her reaction, but he also dreaded it. It was not the same as their usual teasing; this was an infringement on their unspoken agreement and in the end they would only hurt the more. He had to wonder how the human girl had more self control than he did.

'Why do I think I will be affected by our eventual separation?' he though harshly as he reflected on his train of thoughts. 'It's not like that, she's like Yusuke,' he told himself sternly, 'or Kuwabara. A friend I wish to protect. But she is someone I am far less connected to.' The continuing patter of rain was his only response as he sat there thinking. 'We have not shared the same experiences.' And out loud: "It has only been five weeks and three days since I met her."

He could hear the bathroom door open again and her agitated footfalls coming back down the hall. Being the wily old fox he was he had already decided on his course of action and only had to make sure he actually followed through this time.

She stomped back into the room and glared at him; flipping her hair back and stomping her foot as the door snapped shut. "You're a—a…You!"

"Yes, Gwen?" he asked sweetly as he fixed an innocent smile on her.

"AGH!" She exclaimed, her glare intensifying to hide the slight uncertainty that surfaced. She sucked in air to give herself time, and enough force to scream, but he would not let his innocent facade fall. "You yellow-bellied—you…you're going to pretend…" She took a shuddering breath and released it slowly, bringing herself under control as she did so. "Ah, whatever," she snapped, turning around and leaving once more.

"Gwen?" Kurama ventured, leaning over the end of the couch and looking out the door. She didn't respond, just walked off to the kitchen.

'Well, I guess that went better than expected.'

He got up and pushed the door shut, noticing for the first time the chill that had settled into the room. After quickly changing into his single pair of long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, he pulled a sweatshirt from the closet and headed down the hall. In the kitchen Gwen was hunched over a bowl of cereal rubbing her legs together. Even from halfway across the room Kurama could see the goose bumps on her arms. She spared him a slight glance as he approached, and her little grunt let him know that she was not pleased with him. But that was for the best, he told himself, better to have her annoyed, better that she had run from the room than snuggled closer.

"Since the temperature has dropped rather dramatically I thought you might be cold. So I brought you a sweater." He held out her hoody and with a muttered "thanks" she pulled it from his hand. He turned away as she pulled it over her head and began rooting through the cupboards. "Would you like me to make something?" he offered.

He heard her spoon clack against the bowl and her chair scraped across the tile floor. "I already ate. You can make yourself whatever."

She shuffled from the table to the window, pulling at the sash until it lurched upwards, admitting a blast of cold air. Kurama shuddered as it whipped through his hair and tore at his clothes. And there she was framed by the paling light, leaning on the sill as the rush of air caught her hair and flung it backwards. The smell of wood smoke began seeping into the room and she sighed a single syllable. "Fall," she shivered, breathing in the chill and the damp and the faint trace of smoke.

'Fall indeed,' Kurama thought, watching her. She shut the window then, far calmer than she had been before. And when she turned to look at him he saw something like resignation in her half-lidded eyes. Her slight smile didn't reach those distant eyes and he wondered what he would do if his mother ever looked at him that way. Nothing rational, he knew that.

"I'm gonna go to the gym," she yawned, fluttering a hand before her mouth. "Try an' wake up. Then I'm prob'ly gonna start that load of homework I've got."

"That sounds like an efficient plan for the day," he replied carefully. "I believe I will contact Yusuke, there are a few things I need him to take care of for me."

With a nod she left him standing with a bag of flour in one hand and the scent of smoke lingering in the room.

They didn't see each other again until evening, and then they spoke very little. A new unspoken agreement was formed: they would remain as distant as possible while remaining polite.

* * *

"Gwen!" 

The brunette jumped and spun to face her roommate. The pair were alone in their room, their 'other roommate' having left a few minutes before without any clear explanation of where he was going or how long he would be gone for. Shelly had been shocked to see almost no reaction from the normally overprotective Gwen.

"I left you two alone for the weekend for a reason!"

She continued to stare at Shelly, a hand over her heart to feel the racing beat. "I thought there was a cockroach or something! Don't yell like that!"

Shelly planted her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow at Gwen. "What happened this weekend?"

"What? Nothing!" Gwen turned towards the window where the bleak grey sky was threatening thunderstorms. The temperature had gone back up that morning but she pulled her robe closer anyway.

"Don't give me 'nothing,' Gwen. I know something weird happened between you two." She took a few steps closer and put a hand on her roommate's shoulder. "Gwen, darling, he didn't do anything to you, did he?"

The horrified look Gwen turned on her at least let Shelly breathe a bit easier. "Good, I don't have to kill him then. At least I don't think I do. Did he shut you down?"

"It wasn't anything like that," Gwen said quietly, patting Shelly's arm. "I just realized that I was on dangerous territory and needed some space, and it seems like he felt the same way."

"Well you two do spend an awful lot of time together." Shelly frowned slightly and her eyes drifted to the side.

"I spend way less time with him than you and Peter spend together!"

"Yeah, but we're dating." Shelly's eyebrow went back up and she steered her roommate to the futon and pushed her down. Gwen's knees gave out and she plopped down, sinking back against the cushion. Shelly sank into the spot beside her and gave her friend a sad smile. "You've got it bad, don't you?"

A little whimper escaped Gwen's throat and she covered her face. Shelly patted her shoulder and rubbed her arm while Gwen sank her fingers into her hair and pulled, letting out a frustrated growl. "What the Hell is wrong with me!? What. The. Hell."

Lightning streaked across the sky, flashing through the window. A few seconds later it was followed by the low baritone of distant thunder, still one the edge of human hearing. Soon enough it would be closer. The rumble would shake the windows and the lightning would be blinding.

Shelly hugged her roommate but the girl didn't cry. There was too much anger there, too much frustration with herself. She was not about to let herself cry over a boy she had no right to, a boy she had always known was an impossibility, a relationship declared dead before it could even arrive.

"Let's call the girls, eat a lot of chocolate and watch a chick flick."

"But Shelly, it's Monday, and we have homework." Gwen pulled back and dragged a hand through her messy hair.

"I think we can take a study break." She smiled mischievously and Gwen couldn't help but smile back. The lightning came again, closer.

* * *

It was cool again when the red-head and brunette set out for the gym. The rains had knocked leaves down all over campus and Gwen stared at the fallen forms turning brown under foot. 'They go so fast,' she thought, plucking a star the size of her open hand from the ground. Kurama looked at her curiously but said nothing as she twirled the leaf and stared off the path. She was dreamy and he was aware that she was not all there. In the course of the day she had walked into two doors, dropped her pen five times, tripped over her own feet more than he had cared to count and she was about to catch her foot on the curb. He winced as she stumbled and nearly fell, but as she flailed suddenly he pretended to be examining some ordinary fern. 

They made their way in silence down to the practice room they had appropriated for Gwen's martial arts lessons. It looked especially dark and cave-like to Kurama as Gwen wandered in without bothering with the lights.

'At least it will be a short session,' he thought as he flipped the switches. He thought there was no way she could want to continue very long in her current state of mind.

It ended up being the longest 'lesson' so far. He had to put that word in parentheses because it was far more like a battle than anything he had ever expected from his human. He had taught the affable little girl finger and wrist locks because he hadn't actually expected her to use them effectively. Before she had been afraid of hurting him. Now he found out that her little fingers were very deft and she was more than able to apply a nasty amount of pressure. Of course he had to admit to himself that he was also being rougher with her than was strictly necessary.

He threw her to the floor and heard her grunt in pain, but in a second she had twisted free of him and thrown her entire weight into his knees, bowling him over backwards. He flipped her onto her back and pinned her there.

By the time Kurama finally declared their session to be over they were both a mess. Panting and flushed they had pulled each other's clothes all out of place and even left a few lingering marks. Kurama was sporting several long, angry scratches and he had heard a seam pop on Gwen's shirt at some point, though he wasn't sure where. They stacked the mats in silence, not looking at each other directly, both unwilling to communicate and yet hating it. It was a dangerous game they were playing.

When they got back to the dorm Gwen sat down to check her email. Kurama was about to leave again, hoping Jeff was in his room, when a small noise caught his attention. The girl sat up straighter and twisted around to look at her roommate.

"Hey Shelly, Diana's sorority is having its annual debutantes bash this weekend!"

"Oh that was so much fun last year," the other girl replied. She leaned back in her chair to squint at the Gwen's computer screen. "We were all so drunk."

"Yeah." Gwen giggled and Kurama blinked at them both. "Remember that guy Rachel picked up?"

"Oh my god, can you say creepy?! We had to pry him off her. And what about that one you were with for half the night?"

"Let's not talk about that," Gwen said quickly and Kurama watched in surprise as her lips twisted as she repressed a smile.

* * *

I liked the Robert Frost poem when I stumbled across it last night. He's such a fawesome poet! (I'm sure you can all guess what that's an abbreviation of) So I've gotten a lot of reviews asking about Gwen's nightmare in the last chapter, I'm not planning on working it back into the story but it made me think of **luckei1** who's doing a 'deleted scenes' thing for the story she just finished. And I was thinking maybe if people sent requests for scenes I skipped I would write 'em up, if I had time, and felt like it... hehehe. So feel free to pm me or whatever and we'll see. 


	26. Nothing You Haven't Seen

25 Nothing You Haven't Seen

'Architectonics' is today's word of the day, apparently meaning 'the spatial and temporal elements of discourse.' I swear they make half these words up. This chapter was fun, and I'm sure you're all going to be screaming at me at the end, but that's the risk I take ending where I do 0:-) .

ffnet just started emailing me again this weekend, I got a Flood of emails and was pleasantly surprised. Woot! Also, no one called pathetic fallacy on me over the last one (snickersnicker), I had some fun with the it, and I was thinking of Wuthering Heights.

* * *

**Ami: **Hey, sorry to not respond in the last one but I didn't see that you'd reviewed. (facepalm) Juggling multiple personalities is fun as long as your not the one suffering from them! And Hiei definitely is an alien, I mean, he is green after all :-) 

**Alicia**: lol, I'm happy to please! I'm just glad other people find this story as entertaining as I do

* * *

There was a certain atmosphere in the dorm that was nearly palpable. If Kuwabara had been there he definitely would have been unsettled by it, probably more so than Kurama was. The girls were running around as if possessed, taking each other's clothes and jewelry and darting from room to room. This had been going on for over an hour. Kurama had taken refuge in the lounge after Gwen had come skipping into the room with other people's dresses and started unbuttoning her pants, without closing the door, while he was sitting at her desk. 

Now most of them were in their dresses but it hadn't slowed them down one bit. He watched as Gwen stopped in the doorway, her hands at her ears as she fiddled with an earring. She was pulling a face, one eye closed, her brow wrinkled and her tongue sticking out. He could smell her from across the room, an unusual mixture of lotion, shampoo, perfume and blow-dryer. The smell of cooked hair was pervasive; it underlay the other odors the girls were spreading around.

"Ah. got it," she said, giving her head a slight shake. "So, are you gonna come?"

The question didn't come as a surprise to him since he had been thinking about it off and on for the past few days. This party was an annual one at the school, hosted by one of the sororities at their house and called the 'Debutantes' Ball' or something along those lines. From the way the students said those two words he took it to mean that the name was some sort of joke or reference. But like so many other things they said, it was a reference that went right over his head. He had also been hearing snippets of stories from the past two dances and wasn't sure he liked what he heard.

"I think I may, if only for a short while," he said slowly, watching as she tried to get her other earring in.

"Great!" she exclaimed, spinning around, her knee-length dress whirling into a wide circle. "Come on, you need to get dressed."

* * *

"Gwen, when did you buy me dress pants?" Kurama asked as he stared at the articles of clothing the girl had just produced from her closet. He had no memory of buying such things when they had taken their single trip clothes shopping. He didn't remember getting a collared shirt or tie either…or the shoes. She tossed them at him and he caught them, still trying to figure it out. 

"Uh yesterday, when Shelly and I went out. We asked you if you wanted to come too and you said no." She shrugged and walked past him to her jewelry which was spread across her bed.

"So you bought me clothes assuming I would come tonight?"

It was mind boggling the lengths these girls would go to. He checked the sizes and then slowly looked over at her. Gwen was standing in front of the mirror, playing with her hair, sticking pins in and pulling them out while pursing her lips, with the lamp clamped to the bed aimed straight at her.

"Eh, it's best to be prepared," she shrugged, staring pointedly at the mirror before her.

She was making it clear that she was done answering questions and just wanted to get ready, so he left the stuffy room. Shelly went rushing past him, makeup bag in hand as she returned. She spun around as she kept moving and smiled widely.

"You're coming! That's great! It's going to be _so_ much fun."

"You look like you are already enjoying yourself," said the demon to the girl.

"Getting dressed up is half the fun! We're leaving pretty soon so don't take too long, okay?"

'Don't take too long,' he thought as he made his way to the guys' bathroom. 'They've taken an hour and a half already and she tells me not to take too long.' He glanced around the bathroom, taking in the off-white tiles and the harsh overhead lighting. The room was cold and unpleasant, as always and he sighed, thinking about why he was going through this effort. Of course he had to go with them, he couldn't just leave them on their own; he had to make sure they stayed safe. 'That's why I'm going,' he told himself as he fixed his tie in the mirror. 'I want to ensure their safety when everyone around them will be drinking.' And ever so much softer, he reassured himself with 'I am not jealous.'

* * *

"Ooh don't you look handsome!" Kurama smiled faintly as Shelly clapped and bounced on her toes, her voice hitting that high pitch he associated with girls seeing cute things. "Doesn't he look good? I told you that shirt was the right color." She grabbed her roommate by the arm and pulled her from the mirror, forcing her to look in his direction. Their eyes met for an instant and then she looked away. 

"Yeah it does look nice," she admitted, going back to her makeup.

He couldn't help but feel the slightest edge of disappointment at her reaction. She had been so much warmer before, far more appreciative, but now she could just shrug and look away. He was half hoping she would randomly slap her face or start yelling at him for some completely incomprehensible reason. He couldn't deny the fact that he had been looking at her as she pranced around in other people's dresses and did that little twirl.

"Well come on, let's go," Shelly said with a shake of her head. "We're going to Diana and Christine's room first."

"Where's Peter?" Kurama asked as she herded him from the room and Gwen tripped along behind them. It was strange to see Shelly even thinking about going out without her boyfriend.

"He's meeting us there," she said with a smile.

* * *

The noise, the crush, the stench. What he wouldn't have given for a demon at that moment. There were too many people in the room, too many people in too little space. There had to be at least three different people rubbing up against him at any moment as he tried to find some corner to melt into. All he wanted was to disappear into the shadows of the dim room and escape. Of course Bev popped up to prevent that. She dragged him to the center of it all, where the speakers were thumping so that everyone around them was almost shouting to be heard, where the smell was strongest as Diana poured shots and everyone shuffled around glasses as they grabbed the nearest one, where the heat was the most intense and stifling. Fifteen people all breathing and laughing and sweating together. He hated it. 

Someone handed him a drink and he took it unthinkingly, only cringing too late as he took a sip. But at this point he felt like he could use a drink, so he held onto the beer as he was forced to greet all these people he had only seen once or twice before. The girl pulling him along got them to the futon and somehow managed to find room. She pulled him down beside her and was saying something about a good time. They were all cheek by jowl and everybody else seemed to be enjoying it. Kurama could only nod and take another swig from the can. It didn't taste so bad if you held your breath.

And there, only a few feet away, but so far, was Gwen in her shiny red dress, vaguely swishing in time to the music as she listened to the two people next to her. He was watching her swish and answering Bev, wondering how long it would be before they moved to the actual dance where he could at least breathe, when they started a drinking game. It was the loud guy he had met that one time before who started it, gathering them all around the table and pulling out the cards. He even pulled Gwen in, handing her a half-filled coke bottle and insisting she play. It was as they were all explaining the basic rules that Kurama realized his beer was empty, but they were quick to toss over a new one.

There was this one where they all had to stand and chug whatever drink they were holding for at least as long as the person who pulled the card. They called it the 'waterfall.' Kurama was shocked to see Christine down an entire beer in one go, but even more unsettled to see Ray holding up the end of Gwen's bottle so she couldn't stop drinking without spilling the contents all over herself.

"Come on Gwen, take it like a man," he laughed as she tried to swat him away.

"That wasn't just coke you bastard!" she yelled, sinking her fist into Ray's chest as the empty bottle hit the ground.

He was completely unfazed and threw an arm around her shoulders. "Whattaya mean it wasn't coke?" he laughed. "It's what we were using to mix the drinks."

"Yeah well someone mixed a drink in it."

"Ah so what? You need to lighten up!"

"Lighten up my ass!" she exclaimed and began pushing away. Kurama made a move to get up, but there were too many people, he couldn't even stand without stepping on someone. Bev's roommate Rachel was closer and she intercepted Gwen. Together they slipped from the room and into the hall. The room, which had gone awkwardly silent except for the continuous beat of the music filled again with the buzz of ten separate conversations and the game continued.

When Gwen came back she was happy once more, laughing and touching people, patting arms, bumping against them. She even smiled at Kurama and made an attempt to come over but couldn't get around the people playing the game, and when she tried Rachel pulled her away.

* * *

Gwen couldn't exactly remember why she didn't normally drink, she felt good, and Ray's jokes were making a lot more sense. Everything was a lot funnier actually, even the way she felt slightly unsteady. One, two, three, throw it back and try not to choke. Luckily they had chasers this time, the first one had been really nasty, like rubbing alcohol. 

They had said they would leave at eleven but Christine wanted to do one more round and so they were all hovering, asking each other what was going on and when they were leaving. There was Kurama with Bev hanging on his arm. What would she say is she knew he was an anime character? She probably wouldn't be all over him then. Gwen was distracted from her growing annoyance as they all began filing out into the hallway.

She turned around, trying to get her bearings as to which direction they were headed. 'God, I'm such a lightweight,' she thought as she put a hand to her head. She could feel that she was flushed, and it was still much too hot in the bright hallway, even though it was cooler than the room they had just left. She had already abandoned her jacket, otherwise she would have been sweaty like Ray.

"Miss, are you in need of an escort?"

Gwen laughed and shook her head as she took Peter's free arm. "A girl on each arm, don't you feel special?" She batted her eyes and flipped her hair while her roommate's boyfriend laughed.

"He is special!" Shelly declared from her position on his other arm, and they set out behind Diana and her date who were leading the way.

* * *

The music was blasting loud enough that it could be heard from the street and the large house was already beginning to overflow with people in their semi-formal ware. They formed a line pushing to get in the door, holding onto the person in front to keep from getting separated as they pushed through the foyer and into the living room. The room was dark except for the occasional flash of a strobe light and the few colored lights they had stationed around the stereo system. The bar was in the dining room and there was a little stream of people going to it and another coming back. It was even hotter than Diana's room had been and they were having to push between wildly shaking asses and flailing arms to get anywhere. 

The sorority girls came hurrying over to glomp their sister and her date. Then their big group started getting divided. Christine and Bev headed for the bar, dragging Kurama along with them. Two more went to find the beer bong in the basement. The rest were in one big group jumping and grinding and shaking in time to the music, throbbing so loud they could hardly shout to each other, squeezed against each other as even more people tried to fit into the room.

'I should find Kurama,' Gwen thought as she looked around and realized she had no idea where he was, and that it had been a while since she'd seen him. 'He must hate this. I should tell him he can leave.' "I'll be right back!" she yelled to Rachel, who replied with a thumbs up.

Leaving her group she pushed towards the bar. She was almost to the dinning room when there was a tap on her shoulder, not the general crush of movement around her but a distinct tap. So she turned around and there stood a guy she recognized from her building, though he lived on a different floor.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she called back. "I was just going," she pointed briefly towards the bar and he nodded, walking forward.

"Yeah, I was just going too."

'Ookaay, that's not what I meant,' she thought as she turned around and kept walking.

He followed right behind her as they broke free of the crowd and the volume dropped slightly.

"I'm Shawn," he said once he could walk beside her.

"Gwen," she replied, shaking his outstretched hand. "I was just looking for some people who came over here a minute ago."

"I'll help you. They're probably still at the bar."

He took her hand and led her through the scattered people talking and clutching their drinks. Gwen was staring around in the darkness trying to see if she could recognize any shapes as belonging to her three lost friends. She saw a couple people she recognized and waved hello, but not the three, or specifically the one she wanted to see. They reached the bar and she still hadn't caught sight of flaming red hair anywhere when her new acquaintance handed her a cup of whatever they had concocted in a couple pitchers and took one for himself.

"Do you see them?" he asked as he led her off to the side.

"No." She looked around again, squinting against the flashes of the strobe light. "I can't believe I can't find them, one's a reeeally tall redhead."

"Well, since you can't find your friends, do you want to dance?" He smiled confidently and she noticed just how tall he was as she looked up at him.

"Eh?" She was taken by surprise, surprised that this person whose clothes and demeanor all screamed 'frat-boy' should be asking her to dance. 'He must be drunk,' she decided.

"Well, once you finish your drink." He shrugged, that confident smile staying in place as she considered him.

Gwen didn't get asked to dance that often, and here was a pretty decent looking guy who'd been nice so far, and not at all creepy, asking her to dance. "Sure," she said with a bright smile and proceeded to finish off whatever it was in the cup in her hand.

* * *

Kurama was now praying for a swarm of demons. 'An army would do,' he thought as he shifted position again but it was no use. They had tag-teamed him and he couldn't escape. Gwen had been far too correct in her assertion that her friends were dangerous, dangerous creatures. 

"Oh you have to dance with me!" Bev had declared as they were leaving the dorm. She had said nothing about completely violating all his personal space and rubbing against him in ways that were terribly awkward and decidedly vulgar. Christine had helped her maneuver him into this position, with his back almost literally against the wall. O for an angry fire demon, a rampaging horde of oni, Hell he would even take Karasu at this point. Normal opponents he could fight, he just couldn't get away from this girl.

"Let's get something to drink." It was the only way he could think of getting some room to breathe and she accepted with alacrity enough.

It took slightly more convincing to get her to agree to look for the rest of their group. He suspected she was trying to avoid Gwen's possessive reaction, but that was what he was banking on. Shelly and Peter had separated from everybody else and when they finally pushed their way past the lip-locked couple to the others, Gwen was not among them.

Bev wanted to 'dance' again. Kurama tried to keep his feelings to himself. It took a lot of shouting through the music and gesturing to find out that Gwen had walked away by herself a while ago saying she'd come back. She hadn't. Kurama started to worry.

"She just probably went downstairs to watch the beer bong," Bev yelled in his ear while tugging at his sleeve. "We can just call her. She's got to have her cell phone."

"She gave it to Peter to hold," Rachel yelled between them. After him she seemed the most concerned about the tipsy brunette's absence.

* * *

"What's wrong?" the guy, (Shawn was his name?) asked as she looked around again. 'Yes,' she decided as she looked up at him and smiled, 'it's Shawn.' 

"I was jus' looking-"

"Huh?" He leaned down so she could yell in his ear.

"I was jus' lookin' for my friends. I think they might be _worried_ since I didn't come back."

"Weren't they over by the window a minute ago?"

"Yeah."

They both looked through the mass of people towards the windows but the space her friends had occupied was now filled by people she didn't recognize and she didn't see them anywhere.

"It looks like they left." She shook her head as he pulled her a little closer. "Don't worry, I'll walk you home, we do live in the same building."

"Thanks, but I **know** they wouldn't have left without me. I really should go look for them."

"If they're still here we can find them later. Come on," he said, pulling her a little closer again and sliding one hand down to her butt. She fidgeted slightly but let it go, it was fine, it didn't matter, she was just happy to be dancing.

* * *

He had been through the living room, the dinning room and the basement and was thinking about checking upstairs when he decided to go through the temporary dance floor once more. That was when he finally found her. He was pushing through the crowd by himself, having lost Bev to the beer-pong and Rachel to some of her friends in the hallway, when he got to the far wall and there she was a ways further down, with some guy he didn't recognize. Something within him growled. 

"Kurama!" exclaimed Gwen as she pulled away from the guy she was dancing with. The feeling was sated slightly, but the guy promptly put his arm around her as Kurama approached and he knew immediately he did not like this man.

"There you are! I was looking all over for you!" she said, throwing her arms wide.

He couldn't help giving her a skeptical look at this, she certainly hadn't appeared to be looking anywhere other than her immediate vicinity. "Really? Well I have been looking all over for you Gwen."

"**Really?!** That's so _funny_!"

She burst out laughing and the guy she was with forced a smile before trying to guide her back into the crowd, and away from him.

"Gwen, you're drunk."

"No I'm **not**!" she yelled back at him, waving one hand dismissively. "I'mna' drunk, am I Shawn?"

"I don't think you are," Shawn laughed, his hand at her waist holding her close.

"I watched you take two shots, not to mention whatever was in the coke bottle and what you've had since you've been here." He took another step forward, almost completely eliminating the space between them. Gwen was still waving her hand and shaking her head, while Kurama glared at the taller man who had his hands on Kurama's poor intoxicated and confused human.

"Mebbe I had a little," Gwen said, moving forward to grab Kurama by the tie. "But it was only a lil," she said sweetly as she pulled him down to eye level and pouted at him. "Don' you believe me?"

"I believe that you are currently intoxicated and should not be left on your own. Let's go back to the dorm," he said, staring back into her slightly glassy eyes.

They both started talking at once, Gwen protesting that she wanted to stay and hadn't had a chance to dance with him yet while Shawn was complaining that Kurama had no right to cut in like he had, and even less right to take Gwen away. The only consoling thing in the whole encounter was that Gwen seemed to have forgotten the other man, though it did make him wonder if she had forgotten him just as quickly when Shawn appeared.

"I will dance with you for one song, and then we will return to the dorm," he declared at last, to stop her whining.

She brightened up immediately and took his hand, pausing only to wave goodbye to her former partner. Kurama led her towards the door, weaving through the revelers as fast as he could without losing her or shoving any of them too forcefully. He pulled her free of the main crowd and out into the foyer before she started trying to pull him back.

"_Hey._ Hey!" she exclaimed. "I wanna dance still!"

He gave his head a sharp shake and kept up the pressure on her arm as he pulled her towards the door.

"Kurama!" she yelled as he pulled her outside. And then he lurched backwards as he felt her throw all her weight back. He managed to whip around and catch her before she could bust her drunken head on the sidewalk but then she almost slipped through his arms.

"Gwen!" he snapped as he got a firm hold on her. "We're leaving now. I want to go back to the dorm." And then because he was, as people had had occasion to tell him over the years, a complete bastard, he added "I want to get away from Bev, she won't leave me alone."

Her demeanor changed immediately. "That bitch!" she exclaimed throwing her hands in the air. "I'm gonna go tell her—"

"Gwen," Kurama said quietly. "Let's just go, okay?"

He could speak softly now that they were outside and the music was reduced to a muted throb of sound. It seemed to have a somewhat soothing effect on the girl and she stopped her angry gesturing. The night air was cool and a gentle breeze was blowing down the street, tangling their hair. Kurama could feel his head beginning to clear away the murky haze that had settled on him in Diana's room.

"Fine, let's go." She flipped her hair and stuck her nose up, then promptly stumbled as she tried to walk. "Damn ground, moving on me!" she exclaimed and burst out laughing. Maybe the haze was lingering more than Kurama believed because he burst into a fit of laughter as well.

* * *

They finally got back to the dorm room and Kurama deposited Gwen rather unceremoniously on the futon. Apparently the ground was really intent upon playing tricks on her that night. After stumbling halfway back, leaning on Kurama for support, she insisted on being carried. The giggling, strange comments, and of course wanting to be carried, convinced Kurama that she was far drunker than she seemed at first. Of course his judgment was impaired as well, and not even a brisk walk accompanied by the garbled lyrics of 'Sexy Back' had been enough to completely shake the feeling. And yes, she had been singing, the entire way. 

He took a deep breath, relieved to have gotten back safe, and without having encountered the police. It was dark in the room and he flipped on Gwen's desk light before shutting the door. At this point he just wanted to go to bed and sleep it off and hopefully sleep through the hangover as well.

Gwen pushed herself up and got to her feet. She wanted to see if anyone else had left the party yet so she shuffled over to her desk and leaned over the chair to get at her computer, for the moment completely oblivious to the demon still standing beside the desk. She only had a fuzzy idea of seeing what everyone else was up to, and she knew that for some reason she couldn't call them.

"Gwen," he said, but she didn't notice the strain in his voice. "What are you doing? Go to bed."

She looked up at him, and was taken for a moment by the play of shadows on his features. "Did I tell you how **good** you look tonight? Sehr—"

"Gwen. Go. To. Bed."

"Fine," she whined, pushing him away from her desk.

She reached behind her back and began trying to unzip herself, much to his horror, and he quickly turned away. It was quiet in the dorm, far too quiet, the girls from the nearest rooms were all out and there was nobody moving around out on the hall. And so when she spoke again he heard her all too clearly.

"Hey, unhook me."

"What?" he asked, not quite daring to turn around.

"I can't get the stupid thing, yeh hafta unhook me."

Kurama paused, closing his eyes and taking a slow breath before he turned around. Gwen had her back to him and was pointing at the spot on her dress where the zipper began. Right above it was a little hook on the inside, holding the sides together. He popped the hook out and was about to step back when she said:

"Well _unzip_ it too!"

"Wh-what?" The great Yoko Kurama, master thief, brilliant strategist, perpetually unruffled and unfazed, was drunkenly stuttering over a human girl. He wanted to jump out the window.

"Since you're back there," she said emphasizing the last two words by drawing them out. "I can't get it. And it's nothin' yeh haven't seen before," she said as he took hold of the zipper and pulled it down sharply.

"Gwen, I certainly haven't seen you naked!"

She shrugged the dress off an arm and looked at him over her shoulder. "Do you want to?"


	27. Like Water

26

Gwen is currently what we affectionately call 'shitty' or shit-faced, worse than just wasted she's completely trashed, though I'm not the best at portraying this state of being. Kurama is a bit past tipsy himself, oh what fun…

Today's word of the day is finals, what I'm in the middle of currently, otherwise known as _uuggghhhh_. Sorry this update was so slow, its an unfortunate side effect of school. Oh and the rating's back up to M, hehehe. I've actually been thinking about putting it back up for a while, but been too lazy to do it. Compared to other stories I don't think this one warrants the dubious distinction, but strictly following ffnet's guidlines it does. Meh.

* * *

He stood there for a moment, forcing his mind to fully understand her proposition. It was more than possible that this was some double edged knife she was holding out to him, either answer was wrong. With a noise of frustration he turned away from her and walked over to her roommate's desk. 

"Gwen, just, go to bed. Get changed and go to bed."

He leaned on the desk, his sweaty palms pressing against the cool surface. The air seemed stale and close, his breathing was definitely not as even as normal. All he wanted was to get away from the situation, out into the cool night air again, until his head could clear.

"Fine, be that way," she whined, but was giggling not a second later.

He heard her dress hit the floor and pressed his eyes closed. As he was trying to tune out the sounds of her getting changed he was telling himself that she was just going to crawl into her bed and go to sleep. Then he wouldn't have to worry about her anymore. Everything would be fine; they would sleep it off and laugh about it the next morning, if she was talking to him again.

"So's this okay?"

Kurama jumped as he realized that she was standing beside him. He didn't want to look at her, but he had to. Gwen was standing in a pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt, her face thoroughly flushed. He hadn't been able to see just how red she was before.

"Yur not changed," she continued, laughing and grabbing his tie. "Here lemme help, yeh gotta be hot."

"Gwen," he began to protest as her fingers fumbled at the knot. "Why don't you go to bed?"

"I'm not tired," she whined at him, tugging the knot and sending jolts through his neck. "There! See, ah got it!"

He did indeed see as she tugged on each end, sliding it back and forth behind his neck while looking up at him.

She inched forward and leaned against him, nestling against his chest. A moment later she felt his arm settle on her back and let out a little sigh. Things were a little fuzzy and she was having trouble keeping her thoughts straight, but she knew what she wanted, or at least, she thought she did. One thing she did know was that she couldn't just grab him by the neck and kiss him, it wouldn't work like that. So she pressed a little closer, wrapping her arms around his back and leaning her head on his shoulder. She could feel every tense muscle in his chest and arm and she caught sight of him biting his lip.

"Kurama," she said softly, picking up her head. Their eyes met but she couldn't see how conflicted his were, and then he was moving closer. She giggled as his nose brushed her cheek but wouldn't let him pull away when he started at her reaction.

* * *

He knew he shouldn't be kissing her. He really, _really_ knew, but it seemed like the right thing to be doing, and she was so soft in his arms. 

It wasn't an incredible kiss, but in her current state Gwen wasn't one to notice or care. She did, however, know she didn't want it to stop. So when he pulled back and took a deep breath she pressed forward, rising onto her toes to plant a kiss on his nose, then his chin, and then his cheek. He buried a hand in her hair and pulled her into another kiss. They were both running on something like instinct, hardly thinking as they tripped across the room, Gwen unbuttoning his shirt as they went.

Things were escalating quickly as she pulled him onto the futon by his undershirt and he shrugged off his button down shirt. Everything that had been building up over the past few weeks, all of the tension, the fighting, the looks, it was coming to a head right now while they were both completely unaware of it. He pushed her down and leaned over to plan kisses along her neck. Their restraint was flying out the window of the dark room. Hands, legs, lips. They just wanted to touch each other, be immersed in each other's smell, feel each other. He wondered vaguely if the door was locked.

Kurama started as he felt a tug at his pants. He sat back out of Gwen's reach and re-buttoned them quickly. At some point he had apparently lost his belt as well and spotted it on the floor beside the futon. His breaths were coming short and slightly ragged now, straining in the thick, humid air. _This is wrong_. His fingers dug into his palms as he pushed himself off the girl.

She sat up, her shirt falling back down to its normal position as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Wha's wrong?" she asked, moving after him as he settled at the other end of the futon. Gwen couldn't understand why he had pulled away so suddenly, but she didn't appreciate the loss of heat, of contact.

He caught her hands before she could wrap her arms around him. "Gwen, no."

"What?" she asked, feebly trying to pull free. He put her hands in her lap and held them there for a moment so she wouldn't throw them around his neck as soon as he let go.

"We can't do this."

"Do what?"

He was too slow this time, but she didn't throw herself on him, even worse she slid up against him, draping an arm around his shoulders. He shuddered as she ran a hand down his chest and nuzzled his neck. But his resolve was stronger than that and he put her firmly away from him, much to her consternation.

"Gwen, just think if you were to get pregnant," he said calmly while she stared at him.

"Ah'm not gonna get pregnant!" She burst out laughing over-loud and shook her head. "Tha's crazy. Anyway," she threw her hand out in an exaggerated gesture, "iz not like we were doin' anythin."

"I would have called it something," Kurama muttered, blocking her attempt to latch onto him again. "Gwen you need to go to bed, do you hear me?" He gave her a shake and she snapped her teeth at him.

"Ah don' wanna go t'sleep!" Flailing arms and a shaking head made this point clear as Kurama had to duck to avoid being smacked in the face.

"Go to bed!" It was an order with an authoritative snap in his voice that startled her, making her stop flailing.

"_But!_"

"Go!"

He cut off her whine and gave her a sharp shake. She blinked at him a few times and he pointed towards her bed. With a loud sniff she slipped off the futon, nearly fell to the ground, and then stumbled across the room to her bed. Kurama heaved a sigh of relief as she crawled under the covers and turned her back to him, pulling the comforter up over her head.

* * *

Gwen woke up with a pounding headache. She couldn't even groan, her breath caught and she pressed her hands to her forehead. As she pressed on her eyes and forced herself to breathe details started coming back to her. Her headache got worse. 

'It was all a dream. There's no way **that** happened!' She reassured herself that her mind was just being naughty in its drunken state. 'No, no, no, I'm just crazy, really freaking crazy. Oh my god I'm crazy. I was so drunk I started imagining things.'

She felt really terrible at the moment and the vague snatches of memory or dream that were floating around between the various types of pain were not doing much to help.

'I'll just go back to sleep until it goes away.'

She heard a slight rustle and squeezed her eyes further closed, willing everything to go away until she could think through the throbbing. "Gwen, we need to talk," Kurama said slowly.

What little bottom there was left in her stomach dropped out and she felt it suddenly clench.

"I'm sorry," she slurred, her parched throat making speech difficult. "Gwen's not in, try back later."

"Gwen," he snapped, _snapped_ at her!

She huddled closer to the wall, pulling the blankets over her head and holding them closed. It shut out the painful light that was filtering in, those painful sounds, and the possibility that she was in big trouble. Those were all off in another world while she was safe in her cocoon with her pain.

"We need to talk about last night Gwen. We can't just ignore it and pretend it never happened." She heard him move closer until his voice was coming from right beside the bed.

"I'm ignoring, I'm ignoring!" she called through the blankets.

Kurama was rather frustrated. He had been waiting for her to wake up for over an hour, willing himself to stay awake so she wouldn't have a chance to slip away and hide from him for the rest of the day. And now she was giving him a headache, on top of the lovely one he was already nursing from the night before. It was mild, but he could see it getting much worse very quickly. With resolve born of residually impaired judgment he took hold of the comforter and pulled.

Kurama had underestimated just how tightly Gwen was clutching it, and how determined she was to stay wrapped in it.

"Gwen, come out before I pull you off the bed!" he shouted at the lump dangling on the edge of the mattress, one lone leg protruding from the mass of fabric to hook onto the other end of the bed.

"I ain't gonna, and you can't make me!"

He gave the comforter another tug and stumbled backwards as the resistance was suddenly gone. A loud thud proclaimed Gwen's newfound intimacy with the floor. Kurama sprung forward and pulled the comforter free from her grasp while she was still stunned from the impact.

"Ahhh, the results of your deep affection for certain drinks, an affection I was not aware existed until last night."

"Shut up!" she yelled, sitting up and dragging her hair from her face. She pointed at him and glared, hiding her surprise at the fact that he was still in his clothes from the night before. "You were drinking too!"

"A mistake on my part." Kurama rolled up the blankets he was holding and tossed them back onto her bed as she continued to sit on the floor, ruffled and angry.

"So we all make mistakes, I made mine too." She pushed herself of her feet and dusted off her shorts, not that it was to any great effect in her recently awoken state. "Don't sound so stuck-up about admitting you can fuck up."

"We almost made a very big mistake last night." He was watching her carefully for a reaction, trying to keep his own demeanor neutral. He wanted to see just what she thought about the matter, but instead of asking he was prodding, even though he already knew this could be a dangerous course with Gwen. She let a little 'hmph' and began trying to fix her hair in the mirror.

"Oh come on, it was just a drunken hookup, it's not like we almost did It or anything."

"Gwen," he growled, moving forward suddenly. She caught a flash of yellow in his eyes as she moved back and she swallowed "This is your problem, you are too blasé. From the impression I got last night, you would have done just about anything."

"Shut up!" she yelled, shoving against his chest, though it had no effect. It didn't help that a little part of her mind was whispering 'I still would,' or that her brain was throbbing for water, or that her stomach was churning and convulsing. "What do you know?" she snapped, pushing again. "None of this matters to you, does it? I'm just some little amusement, like a _pet_." She sneered the last part and he winced visibly. His posture shifted slightly and she wavered. "That's how you think of me right? That's what you said, 'your little pet human.'"

"Gwen, I say things to protect myself," he said quietly, closing in on himself, closing her out.

"Whoop-de-fucking-do. Why don't you tell me something that isn't obvious for once?!"

"Like what?" he snapped at her. "Like the fact I can't stand to see another man look at you? Is that what your ego is looking for?"

She stood frozen, looking terrified, and he withdrew slightly, berating himself for taking his frustration out on her, for breaking his calm facade, for letting her know. He was falling apart here, doing things, saying things he would never in his right mind have said before. And then she started crying. Kurama had no idea what to do with this crying creature before him, snuffling and rubbing her eyes. He started to say her name but hesitated, unsure if it would make things better or worse. She sniffled loudly again and stepped forward, hugging him suddenly but crying still.

"I don't know what I'm going to do when you leave," she sobbed into his shoulder.

As Kurama put his arms around her he felt that pressure again, that slow draw of this place. That cloying, that was Gwen. The girl was slowly, inexorably pulling him under. He had fallen under her spell too long ago and lacked the power to even resist her grip. This world was consuming him, ruining what he had worked long and hard to build, centuries of restraint, patience, being ripped apart. His mother had planted the seeds, sown the first cracks in his cool, hard façade, made them just large enough for this one. And this one like water was flowing through his defenses, trickling in so slowly that he hadn't noticed until he was already up to his neck. Water so crystal clear you could look right through it and not realize it was there, the perfect temperature so you couldn't feel it on your skin, just its slow drag on your movements. And did he even want to escape? At this point he didn't know.

* * *

After a few minutes she calmed down and the tears trickled to a stop. Kurama patted her on the back as she rubbed her eyes again. Things seemed to have reached a calmer point, hopefully one where they could talk rationally. Something was bothering Kurama though as he tucked her hair behind her ears. 

"What's that red mark on your neck?" he asked, brushing the strange spot. He didn't remember it being there the day before.

"Huh?" She pulled away from him and moved to the mirror. He was trying to think of what it could be as she tilted her head to the side and rubbed her neck.

"A hickey? Oh My God, you gave me **a hickey**?!" She whirled on him, eyes flashing dangerously and Kurama saw his life flash before his eyes as she pointed an almighty finger in his direction. "You're a dead man! I'm going to kill you!!!" She turned back to the mirror just as quickly, running a hand down her neck. "I can't walk around campus with a hickey!"

"I could give you a matching one so it looks more even." They both stood perfectly still for a moment from the shock, then Gwen turned her head just enough to stare at him. "I don't know why I just said that," he said quickly, rubbing his face. "Really I don't."

"You're not about to go furry-eared on me are you? I'm not sure how I'd explain that to Shelly."

He sniffed slightly and looked away. "I can assure you I have that under control."

"Really?" she asked. "Because I thought I saw some yellow." She tapped a finger beside her eye and gave him devilishly innocent smirk.

* * *

**Ami:** lol yeah, makes things ten times worse. Hinting is so much fun :-) 

**Alicia:** thanks! Ah yes he is in some trouble, though Gwen isn't quite your average fangirl


	28. What Kind of Stupid?

27

This story had been added a c2 group, the original name of which was "Gay Ass Stories with Marysues." I checked back and they changed the name and description to remove 'gay' 'noob' and 'fuck' which had been sprinkled liberally throughout. I actually find it rather amusing to be added and am not offended at all, so please don't flame the admins on my behalf. My one objection to this archive is the use of the word 'gay' as a derogatory term. "Gay Ass Stories?" Excuse me, last time I checked my major characters were not openly homosexual, in spite of going to a gay bar in chapter 20, and that is the only time I can understand using the word unless you are intentionally mocking Victorian or Edwardian speech, as in 'what a gay old time we had, whot whot?'

When I was an underclassman in high school, I'll admit I used 'gay' as a derogatory term without thinking about it, but then I had a brilliant teacher who in our first class my junior year told us three things were not tolerated, Ever, in his class room: intolerance, violence, and derogatory language towards others, including using 'gay' as an insult. 'Why,' he asked us, 'should someone's sexual orientation be used as an insult equivalent to stupid, or worse?' I had never even thought about it before, and as someone with enough ego to think herself intelligent, I was ashamed. I have not used it in that manner since. Everyone is of course entitled to their own opinions, but everyone is, as well, entitled to freedom from vicious and pointless abuse based on some stereotype or, perhaps worse, thoughtlessness. Do you really hate gays enough to bash them every time you want to call something stupid? Because that's what it amounts to. I really try not to rant at you all ever, and I'm sorry if this has made anyone uncomfortable, but it's something I feel strongly about and in a moment of exam stress I let loose.

* * *

On a less ranty note this will probably be my last post for a while, as I'm going to spend pretty much all of June on a farm without wireless internet (I'm Still trying to wrap my head around that). I plan on bringing my computer and working on things while I'm there, but it's quite possible that I won't get much done since there's going to be a lot of people, little space, jet skis and a golf cart. 

We're getting closer to the end so it's kinda painful to have to take a break here, I'll probably either end it in 3 or 5. I like numbers that are divisible by five and, even better, ten, but I'm pretty sure I can't wrap everything up by 30.

Today's word of the day is actually two: wisdom teeth, for the four I had removed that interrupted the writing of this chapter. I currently look like someone beat the shit out of me, including the obligatory black eye (which I really don't understand given that they were operating on my Mouth).

* * *

Kurama took a few steps back and leaned against her desk, crossing his arms and closing his eyes as she watched him. 

"I have everything perfectly under control, Gwen."

"_Sure_ you do," she smirked.

He opened a distinctly yellow-tinted eye and she planted her hands on her hips. He let his eye drop closed as he focused on his breathing. The next thing he knew, a towel had hit him in the face and there was another 'thunk' as a pair of pants seconded the motion.

"Gwen!" he exclaimed as the shirt followed.

"Go take a shower, you're stinking up the room."

"What—" He was cut off as she pulled his shower caddy out of the closet and shoved it into his hands.

"Go."

"But we still have to talk. Gwen, don't think you can just dodge this."

"Psshhh," She flipped her hand through the air and rolled her eyes. "We'll talk, after you get cleaned up. Now Out!"

Shaken and slightly confused he was shoved out into the hallway as the door closed behind him. A second later the lock clicked and he heard her let out a loud sigh. Kurama sniffed delicately as he walked down the hall to find that the unpleasant odor of the night before was lingering about his person. His nose wrinkled as he entered the guys' hall. 'I guess she was right about that,' he though as he pushed open the door to the steamy bathroom.

* * *

He entered Gwen's room to find her sitting cross-legged on the futon, her hands clasped in her lap. It appeared that she had also showered. Her hair was wet and a few drops were still sliding from the strands of her hair to her dark shirt. He slipped into the room and put his things down by the door before easing onto the futon as well. A contemplative Gwen was one that made him vaguely uneasy. 

"No more," she said abruptly and he managed not to jump. "I won't drink any more and neither will you. _That_ will not happen again. No more…. And I will be okay," she said after taking a deep breath.

"How do you know?" he asked, risking shifting a little closer.

"Because I have to be," she said, turning to face him, her face set. "And you will be okay too, because I need you to be."

"Of course," he agreed, allowing his eyes to drift away. He just couldn't look her straight in the eye. "But I was more concerned about you."

She let out a short, sharp laugh. A 'ha' with no humor behind it. "Don't be, I'll be fine. Sometimes there's just nothing you can do about it, so you deal."

"True. There is also very little you can do about your emotions once they've settled onto a certain track."

"I think," she said with measured words, "That we are good at repressing ourselves."

He had to nod in agreement at that one. He knew he could keep himself under control except in the most extreme circumstances, and the girl's carefree madness obscured the way she was always curbing herself, she slapped herself in the face instead of acting on her instincts.

They sat in silence for a few moments, each left to their own quiet contemplation. The air in the room was still, slightly stale from being contained so long and tinged with the lingering scents of alcohol and cigarettes. The dorm around them was quiet as well. Saturday mornings being a time for recovery and laziness, the other residents were still asleep or taking it easy. Active souls were long gone, off to the gym or rounds of errands. Gwen and Kurama sat.

"You could come back with me," he said softly, shooting her a sideways glance. Her head jerked around and her wide eyes fixed on his face.

"Are you crazy?! I've known you for a month!" The quiet was definitely broken and the expression on her face said it would not soon be restored.

Kurama cringed at the exclamation, but it didn't stop him from correcting her. "Five weeks and three days."

"Same thing. What if they were able to bring you back two days from now and I went with you? Huh? My family and friends would all think you'd kidnapped me or killed me or something, they'd never believe I just left them all. I don't know Japanese, I'd need you to translate everything. I don't know Japanese culture. I shake hands. And I'd be helpless. So not only would you have to protect your human family, you'd have to baby-sit me. What if demons attacked your mother and me at the same time?"

His eyes widened at the notion, and the way she was delivering this, without romantic notions, just using cold logic and a slightly twisted imagination.

"You can't be two places at once, can't depend on people helping you fast enough, you go for her first and I die."

It was true of course, his mother came first. Years of patient love could not be replaced in less than two months' time.

"And," she continued, her voice dropping to a much quieter tone, "You'd probably get tired of me after a couple of weeks, get bored."

"Gwen! I am not so fickle as to get bored of you." He picked up her limp hand but she pulled away and used it to flip her dripping hair back from her face.

"Well, we'll never get the chance to find out, will we? You got a taste of normal and it was new and exciting and that's the only reason you've been sticking around."

"Because I could never in my right mind have feelings for a girl such as yourself. Because I am cold and heartless and repressed I could never have a romantic interest in another. Because I am a demon I will always look down on humans," he said evenly. "Is that what you think I am like, Gwen? I find it a rather unfair assessment, a little too harsh on my character." She cringed slightly and looked down. "I also do not find you to be normal," he muttered as he glanced across the room.

"There is no such thing as normal," she said with a slight smirk.

"What a very American thing to say."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she yelled, lunging for him.

Kurama caught her hands and fell backwards, glad to be back in familiar territory. He was getting quite good at these little games, it just served to prove that he could learn almost anything if he really wanted to. She flushed as she realized that she had basically landed in his lap and couldn't get away.

"Now that you know my feelings on the matter I want a clear and direct answer from you, Gwen Finnegan."

"You weren't direct!" she exclaimed.

"No, I wasn't. I am just letting you know what I expect. You've given me all your reasons for why you won't come with me, but now I want to know how you feel towards me."

"You already know how I feel!" she squeaked, flushing a deeper shade as she tried again to pull away.

"I have an idea, but if I was certain I would not require your explanation."

"You would! Just to embarrass me!" When he merely stared back at her expectantly her shoulders dropped. She sat there for a moment, chewing her lips and avoiding his gaze. "When you said I could come with you what I was really thinking was 'Hell Yes!' I don't know if that's as direct or clear as you wanted, but that about sums it up. I don't want you to go, but I know you have to, and I want you to see your family and friends again, but I don't want you to leave…me."

There were a few seconds where they both stayed where they were, Gwen a faint pink as she tried to glare down Kurama.

"Well you can let go of me now."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips and she caught a glint of malice in his eyes. "Actually," he said as he as he shifted both of her wrists to one hand, "There's something I want to test first."

"Kurama…. Kurama, nooo," she said, attempting to scoot backwards as he reached for her midsection. But her second 'no' quickly turned into a shriek of laughter as she collapsed sideways and nearly fell right off the futon. He stopped tickling her long enough to pull her back from the edge, only to be rewarded when a flailing arm collided with his stomach. Then she rolled right off the couch and scrambled across the floor as the fox descended into a fit of laughter.

"Gwen, is the reason you don't like being snuck up on because you're so ticklish?"

"I am NOT ticklish!" she yelled, jumping to her feet but making sure to keep her arms bent close to her sides.

"Do you want me to prove it to you?" he asked, making a move to get up.

"Don't you touch me!" she squealed, tucking her hands under her arms and hunching up her shoulders.

Kurama's laughter only got worse and he tipped sideways, coming to rest against the back of the couch while Gwen glared from across the room.

And so their interactions attained some state of balance and a return to 'normalcy,' whatever that meant in so short a relationship. They entered their sixth week together playing around and joking as before, but the hesitance came this time not from uncertainty of the other's reactions but from knowing that things could quite easily go too far. Gwen was careful to keep them from being alone in private places, especially her room. She knew all to well now that she couldn't trust herself. All the recent excitement had pushed past troubles from the girl's mind at least.

* * *

On a cool and breezy day Gwen was lamenting how early the sun seemed to be disappearing these days and starting dinner. The kitchen window was wide open, admitting all the sounds drifting up from people on the quad and the trees swaying in the wind. The colors hadn't begun to change yet, but some of the leaves were starting to drop free of the branches. Kurama only smiled at Gwen's squeals of dismay at the sprinkle of green on their walks to and from class. 

She let out a sigh and turned the oven up while tapping the cookbook impatiently. The breeze fluttered the pages again and she shivered. The kitchen door whispered back into its jamb and Gwen tensed, turning her head slowly to look for the cause. Three men in black suits stood just inside the doorway and she recognized one of them.

"Please don't be alarmed, Miss," one of the unfamiliar ones said as she scrambled backwards, snatching up a butcher's knife. "We're here for your own safety."

"What the hell do you want?" snarled the girl as she backed towards the window.

The men in black suits began closing in. 'Agent Smith' was in the back, staying close to the door while the other two were before him, evenly spaced between the narrow room's walls. All three men were of average height with hair of an indeterminate shade of brown, and though each was obviously distinct from the others, their features couldn't be described as anything more than 'average' or 'plain.' Their clothing however was identical, black shoes, suits and ties with white, collared shirts.

"Miss Finnegan, we only want to know where your red-haired friend is. You don't seem to understand the danger he poses to those around him, including you," The second newcomer spoke in a voice only shades different from the first.

It was either rigorous training or exacting criteria which had selected this lot, Gwen decided as her back brushed one of the wooden chairs. From that she knew the table was directly behind her and the open window beyond that. She began edging to the side to skirt the table.

"I don't know who you're talking about, I haven't got any red-haired friends," She said as her eyes flicked between them. The first speaker's eyes shifted towards 'Smith.'

"Did you know that your friend can affect people's memories? We've had a very difficult time helping Agent Smith recover his, and they're still patchy, but we know there was a red-haired male with you, Miss Finnegan. Agent Black and I need to find this man; once we do, we will leave you alone."

"You can go to hell, that's what you can do!" Gwen yelled. "I don't know any red-haired guys, and the last time I saw that freak I was alone when he came running through the woods screaming like crazy and tried to attack me!" She waved the knife in the direction of 'Smith' and he winced. The others exchanged a slight look but their expressions didn't change.

"And how did you get away from him if he was chasing you?" 'Black' asked.

"I climbed a tree and he ran off somewhere else. I was stuck up there for hours afraid he was gonna come back!"

"You must really be frightened of what this young man would do to you if he found out that you had revealed his whereabouts, but don't worry Miss Finnegan, we will protect you from this monster. Now tell us where he is!" The still nameless man demanded, advancing a little further.

Gwen's back hit the wall and she snarled. Her left hand felt along for the edge of the window sill while her right was white-knuckled around the handle of her butcher's knife. It was then that the door swung open again, though from her position she couldn't see who it was as the three men turned just enough to look back.

"I'll warn you just once," a cool voice said in the moment of silence. "Don't do anything to the girl."

* * *

Kurama stepped further into the room, taking in his three adversaries and Gwen along with the other contents of the room. He noted the knife in her hand with some amusement. She had seen what Smith was capable of and these two new additions must be stronger yet, and there she was waving around a kitchen knife like it was some enchanted sword. Smith was close to him, and he already knew the man's tactics. The other two, however, were almost within arm's reach of Gwen and he knew nothing about them. The room was long and narrow, he would have to get past his three opponents to get to the girl, but that would only draw their attacks in her direction. Of course if he didn't get between them and her they could always attack her, and she had no defense. 

"Well," he said slowly, eyeing them all as they shifted their positions. "I must admit I was wrong, Gwen, and you were right. They are as unintelligent as you predicted; they did come back."

"I'm so glad to be right," Gwen said with an eye-roll, oozing sarcasm. "But of course, now they'll realize!" she exclaimed as she snapped her fingers. All four males mouthed 'realize what?' to themselves as they watched her. "Realize that I'm the one who's been summoning demons. I might as well admit it!" she continued with excessive amounts of energy. The fox felt himself drooping as the humans' attention shifted to the slightly maniacal girl. "I've just been using him as a host, that's why he seems like he's not human, it's their left over energy. I can summon demons in anyone but I can't control them!"

"Gwen," Kurama said abruptly, cutting off her mad tirade. "Shut up."

Her mouth was still open and for a second it looked like she was going to protest but then her teeth snapped shut and she deflated. "I was jus' tryin' t'help," she muttered as she slunk against the wall again.

"Appreciated, but unnecessary at the moment."

For the moment at least the three 'agents' were slightly off balance, they couldn't decide which of the college students facing them was the real danger. The girl had been violently uncooperative from the beginning and it was possible her claims were true, they would explain these strange phenomena, but the male was definitely giving off an inhuman energy and from what they could tell he was the one responsible for Smith's injuries and newfound fear of plants. (They still couldn't quite place the plant phobia)

Kurama was as close to ready as the situation would allow, and if all went well he would soon be in a far better situation than the three men facing him. If things went badly, well, he hoped he would at least die in the battle and so be spared whatever experiments they had in store for him; it would also save him from having to face his mother, if he ever got home.

"Gwen," Kurama said carefully, watching everyone at once for the slightest change. "Jump out the window."

For a second no one breathed. The girl blinked, then spun as quickly as she could, slashing the mesh of the window screen with the knife in her hand. She dropped the butcher's knife before any of the men realized what was happening, and did a swan dive from the second story window.

* * *

The tree caught her. It didn't catch Mr. Black, who came flying out a few seconds later with some telltale lacerations marring his nice suit. Gwen was too far into her panic attack to notice him, though, as she clung to the branch and prayed to all the divinities she could think of. The panic had only really set in after she was safe again. The whole slash and jump had been an automatic 'Kurama says jump out the window so I jump out the window' kind of thing, and then she was falling so briefly that the fact she had just dived out a window because someone told her to didn't really occur to her until she was safely settled by the tree trunk. That's when the prayers began. The overarching theme of the panic, the realization and the invocations was 'What kind of stupid am I?' That was, in fact, what she said to herself. 

"What kind of stupid, brain-dead, moronic, zoned out, crackhead jumps out of a window not because the building they're in is on fire and the stairs are blocked, but because somebody says 'Hey, jump out that window'?! What kind of Idiot am I? How….What…Oh merciful mother of God. Holy Mary, Mother of God… "

Below her on the ground Mr. Black was forcing himself to stay conscious through his mild concussion. He had just realized that his legs were pinned to the ground by the roots of the large tree whose branches had not broken his fall at all, in spite of the fact that he was now underneath several of them. He also saw, from the corner of his eye, what looked like a small vine poking through his torn clothing, coming from the open wound in his side.

Two stories up, in the kitchen, Kurama was negotiating. Well, it was more like extracting information from his victims by offering not to hurt them anymore, and maybe, just maybe, let them live, if they told him something really interesting. Really, these poor humans had no idea how to deal with demons.

* * *

Also dear readers, I added a second chapter to 'Deleted Scenes.' It's not actually a deleted scene, more of a behind the scenes thing, but it's cracktastic! I'm also still taking requests if you've got 'em (Pm, review, snailmail, however you wanna send em).

**cat-ears343:** this one was less of a cliffhanger, so the wait for the next one shouldn't be as bad! And don't worry, I'm not stopping, I just have to take a break, the story will continue! I'm so glad you like it!


	29. Squishy, Squishy

28 Squishy, Squishy

First off I'd like to thank you all for your patience, if you're reading this then you probably waited over a month for me to update, occasionally wondering what the hell I was up to. It's taken so long because, as I feared, I pretty much didn't do anything with my stories through all of June. It was pretty much constant social interaction with one group of people, so much fun but exhausting too. When there's a lot of real world drama going on it's hard for me to focus on creating more in my head. I was doing a field school, an archaeological dig, and I would highly recommend doing something similar to anyone who doesn't mind being perpetually dirty and tired as it pretty much kicked ass (but then I'm an anthro major and I like playing with artifacts). I knew we were going for a dig, but I expected there to be a bit more farmishness about the site, as it was there were some cornfields we got to watch grow, but no animals and nobody actually doing anything with the corn.

Another note before the actual chapter, I'm kind of impatient, and I know you all've been waiting, so I'm posting this without having it beta-ed first. After Uroki gets a chance to look over the chapter I'll make any changes that need to be made, and make sure to point them out as well! Yay for the new feature that keeps documents for 60 days!

* * *

"I believe I have cleared some things up," Kurama said to the girl in the tree. 

Gwen had not come down yet, even though it had been at least half an hour since her mad leap of faith. After seeing the unconscious man on the ground being covered by roots and disappearing into the mass she decided she was better off staying where she was until Kurama came to get her (and made sure the tree wouldn't eat her too).

"Cleared up? As in disposed of thee bodies?" she asked.

She pulled her legs closer to her body and tightened her hands around the tree trunk as she shifted her weight closer to it. The cool breeze and twilight grey that had settled around them did little to reassure her. She wanted bright light and a return to warmth, not this nebulous grey feeling. Kurama made a very Hiei-ish sound, and there was a slightly feral hint in his smile and his eyes. It showed the girl for the first time that she dealing with a very dangerous man. She had always known it objectively without understanding it or feeling it, but as the branch beneath her flexed and sent her sliding groundwards, she felt it.

"Nobody is dead Gwen," he said as he caught her and set her on her feet. The tone of his voice told her quite clearly they probably wished they were dead. "I have made it clear to our visitors that they are not welcome here and they would do well to heed that warning in future. In exchange for some information I am letting them all go relatively unharmed."

"Just how relatively?" she asked as she examined her companion.

He seemed to contemplate her for a moment before responding. "Worse than previously, but I could have done far more."

"What about the one down here?" She pointed at the tree roots and bit her tongue as she saw him smirk slightly.

"He had been conveyed to the appropriate location."

The fox turned and began walking back towards the dorm. Standing in the quickly descending night Gwen felt the goosebumps rising on her arms and the chill snaking down her back, but she knew this was not the time to succumb to childish fears or instincts. She had to think.

"So what did you find out?"

The fox smiled a little less dangerously as the girl caught up to him and attempted to match his stride. He caught the scent of her shampoo on the breeze, herbally freshness again, or whatever she was calling it. She was choosing not to be afraid of him, to accept his rather dark way of doing things, at least for now. The night air was refreshing and he breathed in deeply again as the lingering smell of blood was finally wiped away.

"These people were not agents of your government but sent by an independent organization that has a habit of meddling in the affairs of those connected to the supernatural. They told me their main job is persecuting witches, psychics, those with seemingly occult powers. Occasionally they experiment on those unfortunate enough to be taken alive, all in the defense of the unsuspecting masses of course."

"Of course," Gwen breathed, wary of his biting tone. Kurama held the door for her and they passed into the warmth of the dorm, its distinct odor floating towards them from the guy's hall as they ascended the stairs. "But there aren't nonhuman monsters here like vampires and werewolves?"

"I would assume not as they never mentioned them, though it is possible they have just never encountered their kind. Our guests also gave me some interesting information on their equipment."

He put a hand on her back and guided her into the second floor kitchen. The room was remarkably clean and Gwen couldn't help wondering if Kurama had had to wash down the surfaces after he was 'done.' She shuddered slightly and he gave her a concerned look.

"The breeze is strong, I'll close the window."

* * *

Sitting at the table while Kurama finished preparing dinner Gwen looked at the gun. He had taken their weapons, made them explain the mechanics, and now he wanted her to carry this thing. With a sigh Gwen pushed it farther away from her, to the very end of the table so that the muzzle was just over the edge. Not only would it be idiotic to carry a concealed weapon, one she didn't have a license for, she wouldn't know what to do with it if that time did come. 

"Kurama, I thought you knew me better," she laughed, glancing sideways at the fox.

His lips compressed into a smirk and he gave the pan a slight flick to stir the contents. "I believe, Gwen, that were the occasion to arise you would do what is necessary, and as was proven today I cannot always be around when I'm needed."

"But I thought you scared them enough that they won't come back?!"

"Yes, but I also learned that there are other dangers here, unsettled ghosts and humans with powers like Kuwabara, though often lacking his morals. I worry about your safety."

"Homicidal psychics are the last thing I have to worry about in this world!" she laughed, leaning back in the chair and smacking a hand to her knee. The idea was insanity. Car crashes, terrorists, colds, and finals were far more dangerous to Gwen Finnegan, average college student, than crazy people with supernatural powers targeting her for unknown reasons. And a gun inscribed with runes firing silver bullets wasn't going to be any use against these normal threats.

"The things you have to worry about might have changed forever Gwen."

"It's illegal for me to have an unregistered firearm, and even more illegal to carry one without a permit. It's not happening Kurama."

"I just want you to hang onto it. I'll make sure Shelly won't accidentally see it. You never know when something like that will come into play."

The girl flopped forward, her forehead coming to rest on the arms she had dropped onto the table. At the stove the boy showed no indication he had noticed her gesture of frustration as he gave the pan in his hand a final flick. When the bowl was placed before her, Gwen merely gave a little grunt. Her eyes were still closed against her shifting world. It took a moment for the warmth seeping off the stoneware to reach her and the aroma to diffuse.

"What is it?" asked the girl, eyeing the bowl as she pushed herself up.

"Just something I whipped up." Kurama took a bite and twirled his chopsticks, obviously pleased with himself even if he was keeping his expressions to a minimum.

'Where'd he get chopsticks?' Gwen picked up her own pair and poked, delicately, at the multicolor mass before her. 'Or better yet, tofu?'

* * *

October was passing quickly, days fleeting by like leaves drifting from the tress. More and more were gone each time you looked and you could never quite understand how it had all happened so quickly. There were fewer and fewer warm days as rain boots and hoodies seemed to take over the campus. Puddles formed that lasted for days on end and the grass began to brown along with the sodden leaves coating the paths. 

Gwen kicked a fallen branch and watched as it tumbled off in the opposite direction, a sour frown puckering her lips.

"Midterms aren't that bad Gwen," her demon companion advised as she kicked at another branch and missed.

"Oh I don't even want to hear it from you Mr. Brainiac, you have an unfair advantage over everyone, being a thousand years old and all."

"What, being old and adverse to change is an advantage now?"

He skipped out of the way of her swinging bag yet somehow managed to keep the umbrella over both their heads. They emerged from beneath the dripping canopy of trees onto the windswept quad and paused.

"I'll be in the library." When her dour face didn't change he leaned closer, tilting his head slightly to catch her attention. "You remind me of an old wives' tale about the rain, _Gwen-chan_."

"What is it?" she asked, momentarily forgetting her stress.

"Maybe someday I'll tell you."

"Ugh Kurama!"

Another burst of wind hit them and Gwen held her bag close to protect it from the slanting spray of raindrops. When they looked up again they noticed the span of blue above the grassy field and the sun shinning over the buildings.

"No clouds?" Gwen said, mostly to herself as the fox beside her let the umbrella fall back. A few drops landed neatly on their exposed skin, but craning her head back the girl saw that it was still blue above them.

"It's still raining." Kurama was practical as ever as he returned the umbrella to its proper position.

"Ohh, a sun shower." She stepped away from him, out onto the grass, leaning her head back to catch a few drops. "This makes me feel better. A sun shower!"

"In Japan," her companion said slowly, "they call these 'the fox's wedding1.'"

"And we walked under the umbrella together2, does that make us married?"

He chuckled as the spinning girl came to a stop, eyes fixed on him, wind ruffling her hair. "Good luck on your test Gwen."

"Good luck on your studies Kurama," she replied to the redhead as he gave his umbrella a little twirl. His hair was blowing in the wind too, and it pulled at their clothes, like it was trying to pull them away from it all, off to some fairy tale, free of exams and home work, and Koenma. She smiled as he turned to disappear back into the dark foliage of the tree-lined path; she had her own way to go now, and Southeast-Asian history to explicate.

* * *

Koenma told them everything was going well and she wanted to cry. She nearly did as she thought of the previous night's conversation on the way to the library, her own umbrella twirling sadly in her hand. 'Everything should be ready to go in a couple of weeks.' Kurama had translated for her throughout his conversation, apparently much to the divinity's annoyance. But the maneuver had given him time to think and digest what was going on before he had to actually respond to these developments. 

'Be ready to go at any time.' Well they hadn't taken that line too seriously, this was Koenma after all, but they did know it was coming.

'What Am I going to do?' she wondered as her destination came into sight.

People were milling around the front door, either hiding under the overhang or standing a few feet away in the rain and almost every one had a cell phone in hand. And there was the library behind them, massive storehouse of knowledge and prime studying spot at this time of the semester. She put the umbrella down and squeezed through the ranks of technologically -dependent to the door.

'Be strong, be supportive,' her thoughts whispered as she stepped carefully into the 'absolutely no talking, noise or anything on pain of death' area of the library. 'He gets to go home, he misses his friends and his mom and he gets to work things out with her.' _He's not about to come clean though,_ the snarkier side of her said as she tried to picture Kurama confessing everything to his mother. 'Yeah, that's not happening.'

* * *

_Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean,  
Tears from the depth of some divine despair  
Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,  
In looking on the happy Autumn-fields,  
And thinking of the days that are no more._

_Dear as remembered kisses after death,  
And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feigned  
On lips that are for others; deep as love,  
Deep as first love, and wild with all regret;  
O Death in Life, the days that are no more!_

'And so it goes.'Gwen closed her book gently and quirked an eyebrow at the kitsune. They were the only two people in the lounge, and he was sitting in the chair across from the couch she was on, a book lying idly in his lap. His attention was fixed on some distant point out the wide windows and across the grey-green quad. The sun was out for once, shinning in through the windows, albeit with less intensity than in previous days. A few white puff balls were high in the sky, even fuzzier with the effect of distance. Many people had gone outside, some were even sunning, but it wasn't warm out.

"Something wrong?" she asked, breaking their long quiet.

He smiled slowly before turning to look at her, those calm green eyes settling on her face. "I was just thinking that I will be very far behind on my course work. I've missed most of the semester already."

"Well I'm sure you can handle it. You only need to pass the finals right? Haven't you been studying here too, reading up on all the stuff you missed?"

Kurama smiled and twitched the pages of his book with idle hands. "I fear sometimes that your faith in me is too great Gwen. I'm not sure that I can quite live up to your image of me."

"Pishhh." She rolled her eyes and flicked her wrist, not quiet liking his tone, it was almost sad, an emotion she hadn't truly seen from him yet. "Don't try that self-deprecation with me, I know you have a high opinion of yourself."

"Hm, I wonder." The weak sun was falling on them both now, but in the light Kurama looked a little paler than normal and there was something in his expression and air that made her vaguely concerned. He had a sweater on, that was a new purchase, and she wondered if maybe he looked a little thinner. She couldn't quite remember if he'd been eating normally or not for the past few days. Certainly she had been eating more, to the point where he had jokingly threatened to hide her chocolate. "Is it possible to both like and dislike yourself, Gwen?"

"Well yeah, I guess," she drawled, unconsciously bending and unbending the corners of her book. "If you recognize your good traits and your bad then you can like the good ones and hate the bad ones."

"But how do you reconcile them?" His voice was gentle still, but probing, and his eyes were fixed on her, as if willing her to have some answer. The girl shifted slightly in her seat, throwing a slightly exasperated expression his way.

"I dunno, you can just accept your bad traits, or try to work towards changing them. I don't know really what you're thinking of specifically—"

"How do **you** reconcile them Gwen?"

"I don't know. I don't. I don't really think about it that much, well I try not to because I don't want to sink into that whole cycle of getting mad at myself and hating myself, it's a crappy place to be. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, _swimming…_" the little song trailed off as she caught the fox's slightly irritated eye. "I'm taking this seriously, don't give me that look! I try not to brood because it's bad and I know it'll only get worse. I think happy thoughts and I eat chocolate. How do **you** deal with it Kurama?"

The redhead shifted his position, sitting up straighter and crossing his legs as the girl shot his focused gaze back at him. "It is my nature that makes me what I am," he said in the calm, controlled voice, "I can't help it, or so I tell myself. I'm not sure I 'deal' as you use the term, I just am."

"But you're thinking of your mom and getting annoyed at yourself, right? But you're still not going to man up and tell her, are you? You're going to blame it on your nature. 'Oh I'm a fox, I don't open up to people, I don't _trust_.'"

He smirked at her sarcastic impression, and shook his head. Gwen however had just warmed up to the subject, having spent long enough observing him and waiting for him to talk about the issue. She was actually a little surprised he had broached the subject himself, he didn't directly speak about such things and he didn't give information up easily either.

"You're not a fox, you're a jellyfish Kurama, squishy, squishy." Wiggling arms and fingers helped accentuate the point. "You can't be pinned down or caught; when someone tries you just kind of distort shape briefly and slip away. And when they're not looking 'Wham!' you sting, and the pain doesn't go away, no matter what you do. You could always try being less squishy, maybe you'd be happier if other people did have a better idea of what was going on."

"A jellyfish? Gwen, somehow I am still shocked by the output of your mind." His teeth showed briefly as that feral smile reappeared. "You're a dangerous opponent Finnegan-san because your strategy is to first unbalance your opponent and then deal a finishing blow as quickly as possible. And you are able to unbalance people."

"Only you," she simpered, flicking the book open again and pretending to be interested in it.

"Somehow we always end up sliding into…_this_. Prodding at each other."

The girl smiled and looked up from her book for a moment at the vaguely confused boy. "I think it's a good thing. It keeps our conversations interesting Mr. Jellyfish."

* * *

_Brriiing Brriiing_

A few people looked around in surprise but the ringing wasn't loud enough to draw general attention. The little compact emerged discreetly from a pocket and the young man slowly melted to the back of the room. Amid the noise of the instruments and the focus on the stage only one person took real note of his departure. A moment later she followed, squeezing along the row and tripping over a few feet in the dark. The only lights were those on the players on the stage and the exit signs over various doors, or those should have been, but a rapidly narrowing rectangle of light guided her. As the act went on without them Gwen slipped into the lobby and spotted her erstwhile companion already deep in conversation with his former parole officer.

She closed the distance between them cautiously, not wanting to interrupt. From the tone of his voice and the way he had gone very still she could tell whatever they were saying was important, and she feared what it would mean. Kurama shifted slightly so that he could see her, looking even more elegant and refined than usual in the black slacks and jacket. He had skipped the tie that night though but she wasn't about to complain. There was a pause in his conversation and she spoke quickly.

"What's going on?"

"Koenma's running a test," he said, holding the compact away from his face slightly. The demigod on the other end said something and Kurama's eyes flicked to her. "Gwen, wait here, I'll be right back."

"No I'm coming too!"

She stepped forward, stomping her foot with an impressive clack of her heel, a dangerous thing to be slamming down around unprotected feet. Kurama had to hurry as the small deity on the other end kept insisting and leaving Gwen always seemed dangerous, there was no telling what kind of trouble she would get herself into, even if he left her with an auditorium filled with people. The lobby was gaping and empty for a moment, except for them, the silent girl with burning eyes and fingers tapping on her crossed arms, himself, and the loud little creature yelling at him from another dimension.

"Kurama, you need to move!" the pint-sized prince shouted and the demon shook himself from the momentary indecision.

"Okay."

Even in heels and a skirt she could keep up with him as they dashed out of the building and towards the woods. The temperature outside had dropped drastically after the sun set, making a coat almost a necessity, but they ran along without them, headed for the darkness beneath the trees. In the dark, with only the stars and half a moon for light, the woods were ominous. Ragged shadows loomed up in their path and invisible tendrils pulled at their legs, trying to halt their progress. It was silent except for their footfalls and the occasional gust of wind which would rattle the branches above their heads, a dry scratching and creaking that made Gwen shiver even more.

Kurama was holding the compact before him; the screen had changed to show a blinking dot that would rotate depending on which way they faced. It reminded Gwen of sonar except the dot didn't seem to be getting any closer to the center, which meant they weren't getting any nearer their target, whatever that was. Kurama had only said it was a test, and it didn't seem like he was going to explain anymore. He was focused solely on getting there, with her in tow. But she had been afraid that when he said 'test' it meant 'leaving' and she wasn't about to let him disappear off like that, vanish from the theater during the performance never to be seen again. Gwen was not ready to say goodbye.

"We're here."

He stopped abruptly and she tripped into him, catching onto his jacket to keep from falling back on the uneven ground. They had left the path behind a while before, and if not for Kurama's powers they would have had a lot more to contend with than uneven ground and a few poorly placed branches. The area directly in front of him was exactly the same as the area behind her, or to either side for that matter, as far as Gwen could tell: dark, scary and quiet.

"How can you tell?" she whispered in his ear, casting a glance around in the eerie setting. For some reason she felt uneasy even though Kurama was with her, it was similar to the uneasy feeling of being watched, but not as strong or as definite.

He took a small step back, gently nudging her as well. "I can feel it, and this is the place the communicator directed us to. It should only be a few more seconds."

Before she could ask what would be the feeling intensified. Gwen slipped her hands around Kurama's arm and squeezed, hoping for some reassurance from the contact, but what she saw next did nothing to ease her mind. Before them the darkness began to distort. At first it looked like heat waves warping the image, but then it began to turn. The circle was a foot wide, its outer edge turning white from the smeared background while the center became pitch black. It sat there a moment, hanging in the air while neither of them moved, and then something began to emerge.

The bird cage hit the ground with a solid thump, jolting its small occupant into a noisy protest. Kurama reached forward and grabbed the handle, smiling grimly as the canary continued its tirade.

"The bird is alive," he said into his communicator. A garble of noise came in response. "I'm sending it back now."

He swung the handle slightly and the cage turned. Its edge caught on the blackness and it was drawn in, taking less than a second to disappear completely. There was a garble from the communicator as Koenma reported the bird's successful and safe return.

"I'm going to say this in English so you don't have to translate for the girl," Koenma's voice came crackly and accented over the small device. "Three days Kurama."

_Three days,_ that was all that was left them. The pair exchanged a glance before turning away in silence.

* * *

1 It really is called that I didn't just make it up 

2 From what I've read…dun dun dun…a couple under an umbrella is a romantic symbol, and showing two people under one is like drawing a big heart around them

And yes I was sort of thinking Fruits Basket with the jellyfish thing, but it applies to Kurama almost as well as Shigure!

* * *

**Chibi**: haha yes it is July so I finally got back to work. I had a really fun time, thanks! 

**AkutatsuClan**: it makes me so happy to hear that you like it! I hope you don't cry though, I would hate to be responsible for any more tears than I've already caused. I'm not sure if the rest of the gang would traumatize Gwen, or if she would end up traumatizing them, it would be interesting to say the least!

**brittany**: sorry, but this took forever!

**cat-ears343**: lol my very own soap opera, I like the idea

**alicia**: ah its looking like it will end up being 30 from where I am right now, but it's already around 85k words, that's close to novel length!


	30. Darkness

29 

Waahhhh! Harry Potter was so sad, but so good, well, it was a good ending, though I of course wanted way more info on what happened to everybody afterwards. Sorry for the delay _dajia_, I've been reading, and with books, like my stories, I tend to go for three at a time. Also if I might recommend a wonderful book to all of you **Three Cups of Tea** is a great nonfiction book about a man's struggle to build schools for children in rural Pakistan, it's just beautiful.

* * *

_Three Days_

It can be long or short, depending on how you look at it, an eternity of waiting for Christmas to come, or the quick, hard march to doom before a huge exam. Three days, seventy-two hours, four thousand three hundred and twenty minutes ticking by every sixty seconds, counting down to the end.

Gwen didn't cry. She'd told Kurama she was going to be strong, and that he had to be too, but really she was in shock and while her brain processed in the information, registered the timetable and began to think of things that needed to be done, still, she couldn't understand it. It just didn't seem real, didn't seem like it could actually be happening. And she certainly didn't want it to happen, she wanted to keep him there, all to herself, for as long as possible.

First off, as the rain returned, they had to make it more real for themselves by letting other people know.

"What do you mean everything's worked out?" Shelly asked, looking up from her computer and hushing Peter.

"Well Kurama just got a call and it looks like all his paperwork's come through finally." Gwen dropped onto the futon and kicked off her shoes. They hadn't even bothered going back to the theater, after aimlessly wandering around in the woods for a while they'd made their way back to the dorm.

"Yes, and my mother's already booked my flight," the topic of the conversation informed them all as he slowly closed the door. "I'm flying out on Monday, so I have to leave Sunday."

"So soon? We might not even have enough time to throw a party!"

Gwen snorted. "He'd hate that Shelly."

"Now Gwen, when have I ever said I hated parties?" The fox was remaining calm, his surface unperturbed as he smiled at the girls. "I actually rather enjoy them." He glanced down at the compact still in his hand and blinked. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'm going to try to call Yusuke and Kuwabara." He stepped out the door, pulling it closed after him and leaving the humans staring.

"You gonna be okay?" Shelly asked, sliding from her bed and walking over.

"Of course I am! I don't know why you'd think otherwise. See Shelly, I told you before it was only a matter of time until he left, I'm sorry it's taken so long though."

"No it's fine, it was entertaining to watch you guys fight!"

"Well, sorry to burst in and interrupt your movie." Gwen smiled and pushed herself to her feet, just preventing the consoling hug she saw coming. Slipping into her flip-flops she grabbed a few things from her closet and turned towards the door. "Well I'm gonna go bake a cake; I'll see you guys later."

"You're baking this late? Okay, see you!" Shelly called as her roommate disappeared out the door.

* * *

_Two Days_

Gwen started in class as she looked down at the numbers she'd been doodling in her margins. 48. 48 x 60 2880. 2880 – 2880 X(. 'God I'm a freak,' she thought as she hastily scratched them out. No need for Kurama to go to quiz her and find those. 'Of course he's probably not going to pull any more 'pop quizzes' on me before he goes. I wonder what he's doing.' She stared off into the distance, over the heads of the students seated around her.

He hadn't come back until late the night before. She had been sitting in the kitchen, finishing off her second slice of self-pity cake when he'd come in soaking wet from being out in the rain and told her it was time for bed. After that they'd hardly talked, he'd gone to the bathroom to change, come back and just laid down thinking to himself in that annoyingly unhelpful manner. The next morning they'd gotten up, had an eerily polite breakfast and he'd disappeared again.

'God…Kurama!' If the pencil in her hands had been wooden it would have snapped from the pressure she was exerting on it as she glared holes through her notebook. As it was it just attained a new, curved shape, little grey stress lines decorating the plastic. 'What the hell are you doing? You must have talked to Yusuke and Kuwabara last night, you were gone forever. There can't be that much you need to talk to them about.'

Coming out of her thoughts slightly Gwen managed to catch the professor's voice ever so faintly. She had switched topics already and Gwen had no idea what was going on. Cursing under her breath she went back to taking notes with her now misshapen pencil. Later that evening she would throw it at him yelling "This is your fault you know! Look what happened to it!" and poor Kurama would have no idea why being hit in the chest with her pencil was his fault. He thought it might be something hormonal.

* * *

_One Day_

"A paper rose?" She twirled the flower in her hands before looking up again. "An origami rose."

"It's called Kawasaki's Rose. I thought I should give you one that won't wilt." He smiled and shrugged as she looked at it again. Though he had been expecting some emotional display he wasn't quite prepared when she sprung, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. "I suppose that means you like it then?"

"Ehn, thanks," she said, sniffing rather loudly to cover up the fact that she was choking up. "I was gonna give you something to."

"Hm?"

She let go and hopped away towards the closet while the fox watched. For once he really had no idea what she was going to pull out and when she spun around with one of her hoodies in her hands he was a little bit confused.

"Your sweatshirt?"

"Yes. One, it's big enough to fit you, two, it has the school logo on it so we can help spread the brand across the world! And three, it smells good." She hugged the fabric and inhaled deeply as she walked back over.

"And here I was just going to steal your underwear for a souvenir."

"Kurama, don't be a pervert!" she yelled punching him in the arm.

He rubbed the spot, his wide-eyed expression failing to convey a sense of innocence because he happened to be smirking slightly too. "It was a joke Gwen, I was actually expecting you to give them to me."

"Kurama! Don't you know that if I gave you any underwear it would shorten the time I can go without doing laundry?!"

"Ah, how inconsiderate of me to forget your laziness. Next time I will make sure to take it into account."

"Yes, now stop being weird before I have to smack you again!"

"I'll try," he said, watching her stomp off and begin fiddling with the pile of things on her bed.

* * *

Bats were fluttering overhead, dive-bombing clusters of gnats and chasing after the other flying insects still around after dark. The sun had sunk below the trees a few hours before and the silent pair had found their seats amid the moss and fallen leaves even before that. The thing they were waiting for had not yet come, and yet still they sat in the darkness as the forest's nightlife came out of hiding. She couldn't hear any owls, those traditional denizens of the night, but off in this distance a whippoorwill was calling, and the usual bugs were droning on in the underbrush around them. The moon was not yet up, or if it was it had not risen high enough to help illuminate their resting place. With only the stars and a small flashlight for light their surroundings were nothing more than shades of charcoal. 

"I appreciate you waiting with me, Gwen," Kurama said and his quite voice carried quite clearly through the trees.

"Of course." She had to clear her throat, surprised at the way her voice had squeaked. "What, you think there's anyway I could just leave you waiting here and go back?"

Well, I suppose not." Though she could not see it she could hear in his voice that he was smiling. He put out a hand, that she could see, and she took it, receiving a reassuring squeeze as his fingers closed around hers. She scooted closer along the fallen log they were using as a bench, ignoring the uncomfortable bumps that had led her to sit farther away in the first place.

After a few more moments of sitting quietly in the dark she felt the hand tense subtly and looked around for a cause. Kurama was staring straight ahead, to the place they had been told to come, but as yet the human could see no difference in the ether. He stood, pulling Gwen to her feet as well and reached over to shift his suitcase ever so slightly.

"It looks like this is it."

Again the quiet voice almost overloud in the darkness. Gwen rubbed her neck as the soreness in her throat grew. Tears would come eventually; the trick was to hold them off until he was gone, until it was safe to cry. And then she was able to feel it to, the strange constriction in the air and the increasing static, something like the muffling cloud of the thunderstorm with its blanket of humidity pressing in before the wind kicks up and it breaks.

"I've been reading," he said, and she dragged her eyes from the spot where any moment the portal would be forming.

"That's a surprise."

"I know you like poetry," he paused but she had nothing to say to this, too surprised to think of some witty retort. "And I came across Tennyson. 'Loved and lost' seemed so trite and over done," he said slowly, looking off to the spot where the darkness and shadows had begun to swirl, a tiny core expanding outwards. "I found other snippets, 'Of love that never found his earthly close, What sequel?' And nothing seemed right. Perhaps _Break, Break, Break_ came closest but was not truly representative. And so, Gwen, I'm afraid I was unable to find the appropriate words to say to you on our parting to express my—"

He was cut off as she threw her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe to be nose-to-nose with him. "Shut up and kiss me," she laughed. "I think that will do just fine."

And so he kissed her.

* * *

"Kurama-san. _Kurama-san_." 

They broke apart and Gwen was startled to see the orange oni standing before the glowing portal. Whatever he said next was obviously a demand that they hurry up. He kept glancing around and shifting his weight from one foot to the other, not daring to take more than two steps away from the portal. With a sigh Kurama handed the husky creature his suitcase and wrapped the human in another tight embrace.

"Kurama-san!" it exclaimed.

"Goodbye Gwen," he whispered in her ear, and then let go.

Gwen felt him slip away from her, watched helplessly as he took the few short steps to the portal, and with a brief backwards glance disappeared after the oni into the swirling light. There it was, that swirling beacon, not twenty feet away, mocking her as its rotation distorting spacetime. Then with a Pop! It was gone and the forest was black and silent and empty. That's when she broke down and began to cry.

She managed to make her way back to the dorm, once the tears had run out and the dry sobs had faded away. In their room Shelly was waiting with chocolate and ice cream and cheesy chick flicks. They all pitched in to help keep her sane and moving, meeting for dinners and taking her to get her nails done. Just like when Rachel's boyfriend had dumped her, her support network of friends kicked into comfort mode and she had never been more thankful for the strong, caring young women who were there for her.

* * *

After Thanksgiving break, when the end of the semester push was beginning to heat up Gwen bumped into someone in the stairwell. "Shawn," he said with a smile as she blinked at him, trying to place him among her acquaintances. 

"Oh yeah!" She laughed, remembering her drunken idiocy, but sobered slightly when the redhead came floating into the memory as well.

"How's your semester been going?" he asked, smiling pleasantly as they paused on the landing.

"Oh pretty good, I've got a presentation next week though. Agh!"

"Really? That's weird because I have one too." He paused to smile confidently at her. "But then we've got one every week in public speaking."

Gwen batted her eyes slightly as she laughed, thinking that here, at least, was a distraction.

Distractions come in many shapes and sizes and range from innocuous time killers to borderline dangerous escapes. Sinking as she was, unsure of where to turn or what to do, these distractions became the lifesaver she was grasping for. They say to truly recover you have to let yourself sink and then learn to swim, let yourself reach the bottom before beginning the trek to the top. Gwen had seen people at their lowest and never wanted to go there, and so she tried to keep it all at bay and crushed down the sadness, leaving it trailing below the surface, the weights still trying to bring her down.

* * *

He had not expected the welcome home party. All he really wanted at that moment was to sit somewhere secluded and quietly reflect on his thoughts and his next moves, but when he came tumbling out of the portal there they all were. His mother rushed up to drown him in her hug and he could see his step father and step brother a little ways away, smiling awkwardly. Botan had taken off work and was brandishing a camera like a weapon, pointing it at the dazed kitsune and unsuspecting partygoers as she snapped away. And of course there were Yusuke and Kuwabara, Keiko and Shizuru right with them, with Yukina hanging back a little timidly as his mother continued to hang on him. Genkai had come as well and Koenma in his adult form seemed to be enjoying the height difference as they stood off to the side and he glanced down at her with a smirk. 

They had even invited Kaito and Mitarai who were amicably talking together a bit behind Genkai. Kurama could tell that both were made slightly nervous by the presence of so many powerful demons: Chu, Rinku, Toya, Jin, Shishi and Suzuka were all milling around as well, up to their usual antics while they waited. It took a second for those farther back to realize what had changed and he watched as everyone's attention shifted towards him.

Even though all he had wanted was some peace and quiet Kurama couldn't deny that he was glad to see everyone, glad that they had all been rounded up for his sake and glad to know that they wanted him back. He even sensed Hiei's energy for a moment, flaring briefly in the distance before disappearing again. The fire apparition was letting him know to expect a visit later, whenever he next had to drop a human back in this world.

Finally his mother let go of him and everyone else began to push forward, calling and laughing, and congratulating him on his return. It was a completely different atmosphere from the place he had just been (an atmosphere in part created by him) and he couldn't fully adjust to the carefree excitement swirling in the air. Sure he smiled and laughed, and patted his mother's hands every few minutes, but he felt something missing and couldn't help looking around, thinking that they were a person short.

* * *

**This is NOT the last chapter, there's one more! It's not over quite yet folks, so don't sharpen your pitch forks and light your torches until it's really over. :D**

**cat-ears343:** i'm determined to finish it! at least half of my stories need to have conclusions! (I won't be quite there after this one, heh) Yeah i think Gwen around the rest of the gang would be pretty interesting :D

**alicia: **yeah i know...i've been waiting for an update on Banshee01's story for a little over eight months...but i've sort of lost hope for that one, along with a couple others i've been waiting for, lol, and of course it's been months since i updated my other chapter stories...i'm just as bad!

**Shelly:** thanks so much!

**chibi:** keeping up contact between such disconnected worlds is a tall order, but we'll have to see what happens!**  
**


	31. Winter

30

"Kurama, your mom keeps calling me. She thinks you're hiding out at my house."

Yusuke plopped down on Kuwabara's bed and glared at his friend. At the desk across from him the redhead twirled a pencil in his hand and was polite enough to give Yusuke a slightly curious look. "Well that's strange," he said in a tone that indicated he was trying to be interested but not really succeeding.

"Everything's okay, and all right, right? You talked to her and your step-dad when you got back, and they still don't know you're a demon. She didn't even yell at you, so why are you hiding over here?!"

The fox shrugged and turned away to scribble some more equations down the margins of the study guide. Yusuke slammed his fist into the bed before jumping to his feet.

"I'm not hiding Yusuke, I was merely helping Kuwabara-kun prepare for an exam."

"That's a damn lie! You won't go home, you won't talk to your mom, you hardly talk to us, and you spent the last week holed up at Genkai's! Kurama you've been weird ever since you got back."

Kuwabara nodded from his place by the window. He was leaning back against the sill, his arms crossed. So far everything he had said had had no effect and so it had been time to call in the big guns.

"Look, are you gonna tell us what's wrong, or are we gonna have to beat it outta yeh?"

The muscular little demon king cracked his knuckles and cricked his neck as a small smile crossed the fox's lips.

"Beat it out of me?" he inquired, setting down the pencil and turning to look at his two friends. They, in turn, were doing their best to look intimidating. "I guess your style really won't ever change Yusuke."

"Look Kurama," Kuwabara said, unfolding his arms and coming forward. "We're worried about you. Friends look out for one another, watch each other's backs."

"Occasionally kick each other's asses," Yusuke added helpfully.

"I'm afraid there is nothing either of you can do," he said firmly now that they were moving in. "Really, I assure you…"

"Wrong answer fox boy."

* * *

"The girl?!" the former spirit detective exclaimed a while later. He turned an accusing glare on his friend. "I thought you said she wasn't hot." 

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara punched the shorter man in the back of the head. "I'm sure she's got a great personality!"

Kurama couldn't take it anymore, he burst out laughing, laughing past the point where he would normally stop himself, past the point of decorum until both boys were staring at him and body-shaking tremors had brought tears to his eyes.

"Oh gods," he muttered, putting his head down on Kuwabara's desk and pinching his eyes closed. "Oh God," he said, using English for the first time in two months.

"Listen, is there anything we can do?"

"You could kill me," he said in a deadpan and there was an eerie moment where they couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"Do you see what I've become?" he couldn't help asking no one in particular. "I'm split three ways again."

"Your youko side too?" Kuwabara couldn't help asking. He knew the fox had sworn it off years before, but at the time he'd thought that something so elemental to the fox's nature couldn't be eliminated so lightly. It appeared that he had been right as Kurama rubbed his face.

"Yes, that too. Yes everything. I just barely managed to pass my exams for this semester, and now I don't know what to do."

"Wow Kurama, coming from you…" Kuwabara trailed off, faintly unsettled by his friend's admission. In all the five years they had known each other he had never encountered, never even _heard_ of Kurama without a plan.

* * *

"I'm afraid I don't understand your request," the small prince said from behind his oversized desk. 

The kitsune shifted to his other foot but kept himself from pacing the wide office. It wouldn't do to show that tension now.

"Are you saying that you can't or won't help me?"

"No," Koenma drawled and leaned back in his chair letting his finger tips rest against each other beneath his chin. "I'm not saying that. I'm just trying to understand what you're asking. Let's go over this again, shall we?"

With a frustrated snort Kurama began to pace. The action itself was so uncharacteristic it set Koenma on edge as well. A pacing Kurama was a frightening one in his mind, and anything serious enough to cause such a disturbance had to be dealt with. He knew the kitsune was a tightly coiled creature, forcing everything beneath the surface, and he would much prefer finding a way to let out a little pressure here and there to having it all explode.

"I can't concentrate anymore," the fox said, not even pausing to address the ruler directly. "I don't understand it, my mind keeps drifting and I can't focus for long periods of time. With the few demons that have attacked recently I've been sloppy. I can't bring myself to really care, and my double life is even more unsatisfactory than before.

"I know now I can't stay tethered to my mother's side forever." He paused, looking out over Koenma's shoulder, his eyes unfocused. "Before the 'incident' she was gently nudging me away, out farther into the world. She was the one who first mentioned my getting an apartment for university. But she's my only reason for remaining." He shook his head slightly and began stalking circles before Koenma's desk once more. "I like the human world, but I've made sure to keep my distance from almost every human here. In effect she was pushing me towards nothingness, towards a pointless existence. And if that's what it comes down to…"

He glanced up and caught Koenma's eye. The tiny ruler clenched his fists and inhaled sharply; shocked to find such a look as he hadn't seen in years in the kitsune's eyes. It was starting to look like drastic measures might be in order, more pressure had built up than he expected and releasing a little wasn't going to help much.

"In demon world things would be almost the complete opposite," Koenma mused. "Everyone there is expected to be able to defend themselves, you would not be responsible for anyone's welfare, you could have a high ranking position anywhere: with Enki or one of the warlords, or be free to come and go as you chose. There would be no need for split identities or this masquerade."

"I know that," Kurama said slowly, having regained his outward calm though he was still moving. "Koenma, have you even been listening to what I've been saying?"

The small prince rubbed his chin thoughtfully while he shuffled around a few papers on his desk and continued to ignore the growing line of ogres carrying stacks of paper awaiting signatures. Kurama stopped his pacing and came to rest before the oversized desk, watching as Koenma took a long moment to think carefully.

"I'll see about your request, on one condition," Koenma said, wagging his index finger slightly as he leaned forward across his desk and locked eyes with the demon. "You have to talk to your mother about it first. I'm not saying you need her approval, you just have to tell her."

* * *

Winter dragged on, days bleeding into each other to form one long gray mass. It was with growing anticipation that Gwen looked forward to the new semester, not because of any particular affinity for her classes, but because it would force her to do something and therefore help keep her mind occupied. Over the interminable month that had been winter break she'd done far more visiting, shopping and busy work than ever before, pretty much anything to fill the long dark hours and keep her thoughts from wandering. It would happen whenever she was alone or allowed her mind to drift, that one taboo subject would rise to the surface and she would find herself wondering where he was, what he was doing, and if he missed her like she missed him. 

The line was long, as it always was this time of year, a serpentine of students with their stacks of books. The premeds with their paving stone sized hardcovers, English majors with novels tucked under their arms and every other assortment of textbooks imaginable were in the arms of the college's returning students. Gwen was in the line as well, her boot tapping gently on the tiles as she shifted the books around in her arms for the millionth time. As she was almost to the front she'd been holding them for a long time, not counting the little break a few paces back where she'd set them on top of the last bookshelf before the registers. 'Only a little bit longer,' she told herself. 'Just a few more minutes. Just stick it out a few more minutes.'

A few people back another woman was also shifting uneasily in the line. She was running late already and the abysmal pace of the line wasn't helping her growing anxiety, nor was the fact that she was almost certain the man standing in front of her had cut. She couldn't be quite certain, she had been looking away for a few minutes, but when she looked back there he was and she clearly remembered getting in line behind another girl, at least, she thought she did.

It was an unlucky day for her nerves and her stress factor skyrocketed with what happened next. There she was, merely standing in line, silently cursing the butt-er and looking around when from the corner of her eye she saw his hand snake into the purse of the girl in front of him. She couldn't believe her eyes and stood transfixed as he slowly withdrew his hand, holding the girl's keys. It took only a second but she had caught all of it, though when she glanced around to see if other people were staring in outrage it seemed no one else had noticed. She was standing there debating with herself how she ought to say something, and what exactly she'd say when the man made another move.

"Excuse me Miss," he said with a slightly accented voice as he tapped the girl on the shoulder. "I believe you dropped these."

Gwen turned around. There was a crash, though she didn't hear it, as the books she'd been holding hit the floor. And shrieking, she threw herself on Kurama. For a while she was quite unintelligible and he happily waved on the people behind them in line as she clung to the front of his coat laughing and crying.

"Are you real?" she gasped, taking a step back and wiping her eyes.

"Oh, most certainly not. I'm sure if you asked any of these fine people they'd tell you you've been hugging a bookcase and talking to yourself."

For a second she looked half-temped to try asking before other questions came bubbling up. "W-what? How? Why?"

"Exchange student, for a semester. The same way I left. I thought 'we' deserved a chance," he said, ticking them off on his fingers. "That's three questions, I believe if you ask eight more you'll owe me a breakfast of pancakes, bacon and orange juice."

"I'll make you all the pancakes you want!" she cried, on the verge of tears again as a few more people slipped past them. He couldn't help chuckling and pulled the girl into an embrace, thinking all the planning, blackmailing and conniving it had taken to get back were worth it. "And I won't even make you chase me for the bacon."

"That was what made it fun," he replied, watching her dig through her pockets for a tissue, sniffling loudly. "You'll be proud of me, I brought my own clothes this time."

"So I see," she mumbled, holding onto his scarf as she leaned back and looked him over. "I still need to take you shopping, what on earth did you do to that sweater?"

"I'm foreign, this is what people wear in my country. And Yusuke told me it was cool," he said, looking at the brightly clashing colors.

Laughing they bent to gather her books and retake their position in line. She was happy just leaning against him as they stood waiting, knowing explanations would have to wait until they were somewhere private, knowing that there would be plenty of time. He said he was there for the whole semester, right? The clerk was positively beaming at the pair when they walked up, but of course everyone at the registers had had a front-row view of the P.D.A.

Outside it was chilly but not freezing and she let him lead her around the familiar paths. Earlier they had looked bleak and dreary, stripped of their usual vegetation and surrounded by the grey day, but now everything was vibrant and shinning again, each brown and soggy leaf was beautiful and the gloom inviting.

"How did you convince them to let you come back?" she asked, looking up at him. They were walking arm-in-arm along the mossy bricks, her bag of books swinging from his free arm. The smile he turned to her was distinctly self-satisfied and rather like a toothy smirk.

"It took some convincing, some _persuasion _of the right people."

"You threatened Koenma?"

"Noo, never threatened."

"Not directly." She laughed and gave his arm a little squeeze. "Just mentioned a few unfortunate things that could, possibly, happen if you didn't get your way."

"Well, yes, but that was just giving him fair warning. I talked to my mother as well." His eyes tracked towards the sky and his smile was much softer. "She told me to go. And so then it wasn't that difficult to get the paperwork in order and filed through the systems so that I could study abroad for a semester. The visa was something of a hassle though."

"You actually have a legitimate visa!" She clapped her hands together and squeaked. "Yay, a big step up."

"I also have my own dorm room," he said with another slightly toothy smile.

* * *

Kurama was stranded in Gwen's world for eight and a half weeks. He returned for fourteen. He returned again for thirty-three. And then he had to graduate from his original university. It was the longest time they spent apart since meeting, despite the fact that Gwen spent that summer in his world. 

'_Through the Looking Glass_' is the provisional title for the sequel, which will not be structured quite like this one. There'll be some chapters that run consecutively and others that are stand alone snippets, and I'm not srue if they'll all be in chronological order. The first couple will take place a year and a half after the ending of this story.

I finished this in less than a year, go me! Everybody, thanks for reading! Love and cute fuzzy things to all with extra special marshmallow hugs to my wonderful reviewers who never failed to brighten my day and make me more motivated to write :D

**alicia**: well i'm glad i'm not as bad as a lot of people, but i still feel bad when my updates take longer than expected, of course i don't need to worry about that anymore

**Chibi**: lol if i doubled the length i'd have quite the novel on my hands! also I'd say never delete something you wrote (instead get a new account and pretend you had nothing to do with the original, jk ;D) since its good to be able to look back and compare what you used to write to what you do now. i looked at the first chapter of your fic and would suggest come revisions, but not deleting it, i like the idea. if you leave an email address in a review or pm me i can get back to you with some ideas

**aoidream:** thanks! i know i was sad about ending it too, but everything has to have some sort of resolution or it really would be a soap opera

**cat-ears343**: lol Koenma would not have been happy if Kurama had missed the portal, and i don't think even Gwen could stand up to a full-blown Koenma-tantrum!


End file.
